Beauty & The Geek
by scrappy12
Summary: With A running rampant in her life, Hanna befriends the school nerd, Lucas. The closer they get, Hanna begins to realize that there might be more between the two than she realized. Can Hanna have a healthy relationship with A looming. Hanna/Luca
1. Chapter 1

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is solely based on the one episode I have seen of Lucas and Hanna together. I haven't read the books so a lot of this I'll make up off the top of my head, I am doing some research about them from the books to at least stay a bit consistent, but don't be mad if I stray from what they are in books, but I will follow so far what the show has presented of the two.**

Chapter One- It Isn't As Easy To Be Me

Laying in bed, the blonde haired girl looked up at her ceiling trying to determine if the world would fall off its axis if she had decided to spend the day in her bed, her world had already felt off with the mysterious text message from "A", so she figured why not give up. Feeling restless as she lay still in one spot in the bed, Hanna quickly sat up in the bed, looking out the window to the shining so brightly. She usually loved days like this, days in which she could flaunt her newly well deserved body that Sean apparently was deadest against touching in any sexual manner. Huffing in frustration at the thought of the ongoing saga of Sean and her attempting to advance in their relationship, Hanna did everything she could to think of something other than Sean. Her plan started off pretty good, but the more she thought the more she felt antsy to just get up and move. Getting up from her bed, Hanna walked over to her window to look outside at the leaves dwindling in the light breeze, as people walked along the sidewalk of her house, looking across the way, Hanna had hoped that Emily was feeling better after her accident at Homecoming. Much of Hanna's thoughts had gone towards how Emily was feeling, especially since she saw the pictures of Maya and her, she must be scared was all she kept thinking. Tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, Hanna began to look intently out her window at the dark haired boy that walked on the sidewalk in front of her house. Watching the boy from her window, she could see that his destination was her house but he was unsure how to approach. Hanna quickly laughed in sympathy at Lucas as she realized he was even more of a dork than she thought. Grabbing her robe, Hanna quickly went downstairs.

"Do you need something?" Hanna said after she opened the door just as Lucas had turned to leave. Turning around nervously, Lucas looked as if he was trying to formulate the right thing to say to explain why he was there

"You. You left your wallet in my car, hence the reason why I know where you live because its on you identification" Lucas said as he pulled the wallet out of his pants pocket as he walked towards her

"I hadn't even noticed I lost it. Last night was crazy" Hanna said as she received the wallet

"I bet. Its not everyday that a girl like you wins Homecoming Queen" Lucas replied "That sounded worse than what I had meant to say. I'm sorry" he quickly apologized realizing his mistake

"No, I get what you mean. I didn't get to enjoy the moment though, my friend had an accident, so that trumped everything else" Hanna said

"Well if it makes you feel any better, the King and Queen take their pictures today after school" Lucas told her

"Really? Well I guess I'll have to take extra time to get ready then" Hanna smiled "Thank you for the ride again last night" she told him

"No problem" Lucas replied

"Well I have to get ready for school, for the picture and everything" Hanna said "I'll see you at school" she said turning to walk back inside her house

"Yeah, at school, where us talking would be against every popularity code you have" Lucas said to himself in sadness before he continued on his path towards school

After much needed grooming, Hanna finally pranced down the staircase and into the kitchen, where she saw her mom pour herself a cup of coffee as she watched the news. Grabbing her half of the grapefruit from the fridge, Hanna joined her mother at the counter just sitting in a moment of silence watching the news. This had seemed to be their routine ever since her dad left, it wasn't due to the obvious sadness they both felt but because it was a certain stillness they had knowing that the other was still there and didn't want to go. Sometimes it was hard to forget that he had walked out on both of them. Breaking the silence, Hanna's mom quickly turned off the television and began to get ready for work.

"So what's on your agenda today?" Hanna's mom asked

"Nothing much. I have homecoming pictures, then maybe doing something with Sean" Hanna told her mother

"Sounds good, try to avoid the mall for a few days. My account is still trying to recover after you pulled a Winona on the King James Mall" Hanna's mom said

"If it keeps Mr. Detective away then I'll be glad to" Hanna replied

"So you two are on good terms again?" Hanna's mom asked

"I don't know. There was so much going on at the dance that we really haven't talked about us" Hanna said

"I like Sean, he's….he's safe for you" Hanna's mom said trying to find the words to describe her daughters boyfriend

"Safe? Could you have picked a better word?" Hanna laughed

"That's what I think of when I think Sean" Hanna's mom smiled "Have a good day sweetheart" she said leaning in to kiss Hanna on the cheek

Poking away at his stale lunch choices, Lucas couldn't help but look on at the excitement the rest of his peers were having during lunch. Sitting with the band, he always found himself looking at others have the fun he himself wished he was having, a good time for him at lunch was hoping that Ronny the trumpet player wouldn't sit by him. On occasion his glances would go over towards Hanna, who seemed to be the epicenter of all things popular about Rosewood High. Lost in his stare of her, Lucas hadn't realized that his friend, Alton, had took his seat beside him.

"Earth to Lucas" Alton said waving his tuna sandwich in front of his face to catch Lucas's attention "Oh, I see your visiting Hanna land" he said noticing who he was staring at

"I wasn't at Hanna land. I was just looking at tomorrow's menu, I happen to be very concerned with the direction the cafeteria food is going in" Lucas lied "Okay, that's a load of crap. I gave the wallet back" he told him

"What? That could have been our bargaining chip" Alton complained

"Bargaining for what?" Lucas asked

"To get into the parties my friend. We tell Hanna Marin that we have her wallet that contains personal information and boom! We have her right where we want her" Alton told him of his diluted plan

"Yeah, and we'll be in jail. I'm not going to blackmail her. She's actually pretty nice" Lucas said "She was at the virgin club meeting the other day, and she spoke sentences to me at the dance" he smiled happily at Alton, who was not impressed

"Sentences? We came to high school to get sentences from them, the popular. Once again Lucas, I have to point you in the right direction" Alton told his friend

"No, I'm perfectly fine on my own path" Lucas laughed

"Path to where? Girls like Hanna don't notice the nice guy or want to bang the nice guy. They want the jocks, the rude guys, who were born with six packs or at least five packs" Alton said

"Okay, your getting a little extreme. I'm not looking to bang Hanna Marin. She's in the virginity club for crying out loud with her boyfriend Sean, did I forget to mention that" Lucas said

"I hardly doubt those two are bumping monkeys on a regular basis. She's probably one of those chicks who want to be born again after doing the nasty in unsanitary place" Alton imagined to himself while Lucas listened with disgust

"Get rid of the skin flicks, they're effecting you in more ways than you can imagine" Lucas said getting up from his seat "I've accepted the roles of high school. Geeks and Popular don't mix. There's no blackmailing your way into that" he said as he grabbed his tray and left

Primping in front of the mirror, Hanna did her best to make herself look drop dead gorgeous, but A had managed to get to her. She hated that this unknown had come into her life and completely turned it upside down, so now all she could do was sit in anticipation hoping that this A person would disappear after realizing that her and her friends weren't as fun to play with as some other losers would be. Giving herself one more look before deciding that she was ready to take the picture, Hanna turned away from the mirror to see Sean sitting at the vacated table texting on his phone, going over to join him, she quickly grabbed a seat in front of him.

"I'm glad we're doing this" Hanna said tearing him away from his texting

"Yeah, its something we can look back and remember" Sean smiled weakly

"Another reminder of how we're good together" Hanna smiled softly

"Are we? I mean are we really that good together or are we just tolerating each other?" Sean asked

"No. Sean we're good together" Hanna said

"I don't know Hanna, last night I was hoping to figure that out but you were just everywhere last night. You weren't at the dance, your mind was somewhere else" Sean told her

"Yeah, because what happened to Em" Hanna said "I was worried about her being with Toby" she said

"So? Emily chose to take Toby" Sean said

"She's my friend Sean, I worry about her" Hanna said

"No, I didn't mean for it to sound like I don't want you to care about your friend. I just thought that we would try to figure us out last night without any distractions" Sean said

"And by that what do you mean? were you ready to have sex?" Hanna asked making Sean even more upset

"Not everything is about sex" Sean declared annoyed with her

"Then what is it about? I'm trying here, Sean. I think I'm trying to see your point of view more than your trying to see mine" Hanna said

"Well maybe that's the problem. Maybe we don't want the same things" Sean said

"Maybe it is" Hanna agreed

"So its clear then. We're no more" Sean said catching a look of sadness wash over Hanna even more so than it all ready had

"Okay, we're ready for you two" Lucas told them as he walked over to them unaware that he was interrupting a serious moment between the two of them. Hanna quickly got up from her seat trying to hide the tears that were coming to her eyes as Sean followed behind her

"I have to do reapply my eyeliner. I don't want blotchy eyes" Hanna turned to tell the photographer before walking over to her bag. Sifting through her stuff she noticed she had a new text message. Rolling her eyes in frustration, she took a deep breath before opening her cell phone to see it was yet another text from A

Why the tears Queen Bee, having the Prince isn't as easy as you think. Save the tears because you'll need them for later -A


	2. Trust Me, I'm Friendly

Chapter Two- Trust Me, I'm Friendly

After the text from A, Hanna didn't know whether to rush home and hide under the covers or press Sean for more answers as to why she wasn't good enough for him. Millions of things ran through her mind to where she knew that she couldn't have possibly taken a good photo with everything that on her mind. Everything was getting messed up and it was A's fault, that's all she could conclude in her head but a part of her knew that things with Sean was running its course and if they wouldn't sex it up then they probably wouldn't have anything solid in there relationship. Going to her locker, Hanna quickly grabbed her books ready to end her day at school and just getaway. She had hoped to escape A by leaving school, but that proved useless with all the other texts she received in various locations. Sending a quick text to Aria, Spencer, and Emily, she wanted to know if they had heard anything else from the infamous A as she began to walk out of the school. Halfway down the stairs she had forgotten the fact that she wasn't doing anything with Sean, which she had counted on for a ride home, so she reluctantly prepared herself for the walk home until she saw Lucas coming out of the science building. For a moment she thought she should just walk away and stop the thought that was coming to her head but the idea of working up a sweat was appealing to her or her pride at the moment.

"Hey Lucas" Hanna smiled as he stopped his path to his car "Wait, I thought you were walking this morning?" she asked him

"My dad had to get my car serviced" Lucas smiled shyly "Do you need a ride again? I mean if that's what you wanted when you said hey" he asked her

"Are you always this nervous?" Hanna asked as she walked over towards his car as he followed behind her to the drivers side while she got in on the passenger side

"I have a tendency to put my foot in my mouth, so I try to clarify as quickly as possible when stupidity leaves my mouth" Lucas said

"It wasn't a stupid question. You were right since I clearly need a ride and have placed myself in your car, so your good" Hanna smiled as she put her seatbelt on as Lucas started the car up and pulled out the parking lot

"The pictures came out good" Lucas brought up

"They did. I probably look horrible" Hanna sighed as she looked out her window

"No, you looked good. You always look good" Lucas said without realizing the last part of his compliment "And there's my foot again" he laughed

"Well thank you" Hanna smiled "Do you mind if you drop me off at the hospital? I want to see a friend" she said

"Yeah, okay" Lucas replied "I will get you to the hospital" he declared as he gripped on tight to the steering wheel. So happy that Hanna Marin was in his car, Lucas couldn't help but look over at Hanna as she looked out the window while he drove. She seemed as if she was miles away even though she was sitting in the car with him, he wished he could understand what caused her to be so distant when she was only but a mere few feet away

Walking down the hall looking for Emily's room, Hanna finally was able to locate the room. Noticing that Emily was in the room with her parents, Hanna stood out in the hallway looking in on a sadden Emily as her parents just talked. She remembered what that felt like, when her parents use to argue while at the dinner table, and all she could do was pretend, pretend that she wasn't even there until it literally felt like she wasn't there. Hanna wondered how long Emily had felt like this, she wondered if they had still been friends while she felt like this, but most of all she wished that she would have been there for her to help her see that she didn't have to feel like this. Before Hanna would eventually give up and go home, promising to see Emily tomorrow, Emily's parents had spotted Hanna out in the hallway. A slight smile came to Hanna's face once Emily's mom had pulled her into the room and into a quick hug while she looked on at Emily. Emily looked more than thankful that Hanna was there to rescue her. Leaving the two girls alone in the room, Hanna took a seat on the edge of Emily's bed observing the seriousness of it all.

"A did this to you" Hanna laughed to herself "I wish we could just be done with all of this" she said

"Toby did this or at least what I remembered before I fell" Emily replied

"Why'd you bring him, Em? You knew he was dangerous" Hanna asked her

"I thought he was a good person, I wanted to give him a chance" Emily told her

"Well it goes to show if someone appears creepy, they are" Hanna said

"I wanted to ask you something? About what you told me at the dance. Why did you think I was bringing Maya?" Emily asked

"Em, have you received anymore texts from A?" Hanna asked

"Only the one we got in the fortune cookies. Why?" Emily asked

"A sent me an e-mail. It was an e-mail of you and Maya. Kissing" Hanna told her. Emily's eyes seemed to bulge out of her head as she couldn't believe that someone finally knew her secret, well that was someone other than Alison

"It was a mistake" Emily replied softly lowering her head in shame

"Was it? Em, its okay if you have feelings for her" Hanna assured her friends

"Have you not met my parents. Hanna, there is no way they would accept it, no way" Emily said

"Yeah, so they'll be upset at first, but they love you and I have to believe that will win out in the end" Hanna said

"Its not about love. I know my parents love me, its about what's right, and those feelings, the feelings I have for Maya are wrong" Emily said as Hanna could only look on at her friend fighting a battle within herself, only she had hoped the side that wanted to be happy was winning out over the side that was determined to live a lie

He wasn't like everyone else, that's something he knew and had accepted through the course of his sixteen years of existence. His parents didn't involve themselves in the community social scenes like others, he didn't have siblings to exercise his physical prowess on, he was just plain Lucas, who happened to love play Wii and working on the next great computer software that would make Bill Gates eat his dust. Doodling on his notepad, jotting down ideas for him up and coming software, Lucas sat out on the ledge of his roof. A long time ago, when he was a bit adventurous, he discovered that there was paved sitting space on part of the roof that was by his room, so whenever he wanted to be close to the stars or just to think, he would sit out there. Taking a break from doodling, he ran over the events of his day and still found himself amazed that Hanna had managed to talk to him two days in a row consecutively, which brought a smile to his face because he knew that was about as much contact that he would get with her. Hanna was in her own world to even noticed that he had been the same boy that lived across the way from her, he had been the same boy that saw her transform from the round girl into the slim Goddess that she had become now. He was the same boy that recognized how much she envied her friend Alison, so it was no surprise that he had noticed the change in her since September 1st . He could come across as a bit of a stalker but he just always found himself being the outsider looking in. Noticing the piece of paper that stuck out of his notepad, Lucas pulled the paper out and began to read over the letter that would change is future into the one he had hoped for, but a part of him still feared that running away wouldn't solve any of his problems even if it was an opportunity of a lifetime.

Walking into her house, Hanna was surprised to see her mom had made it home before she had. Going into the kitchen, her mother sat at the table with her head hung low as if she were crying. Hearing footsteps, Hanna's mom quickly looked up to see her daughter concerned as to why she was crying. Doing her best to cover up the fact that she was caught, Hanna's mom quickly scurried around the kitchen trying to prepare a meal for the two of them completely forgetting the fact that she had left the evidence on the table.

"What's going on mom? Is it dad?" Hanna asked

"No, everything is fine. How was school?" Hanna's mom asked

"Good. What's going on?" Hanna asked not falling for the change of subject

"Nothing is going on" Hanna's mom said trying to convince not only Hanna but herself at this point

"Mom, don't do this" Hanna told her mother

"Hanna, things are….I can't believe I'm even telling you this" Hanna's mom said trying to hold her emotions in but found it hard to do so before Hanna quickly came to her mother's side "I'm not doing so good, we're struggling financially" she said looking into her daughters eyes

"Okay. We know this, I mean things have been tough since dad left, but this isn't something we can't fix, right?" Hanna asked

"No, we're in debt. Major debt, and we might lose the house" Hanna's mom told her

"What? Where would we live?" Hanna asked

"I don't know" Hanna's mom cried "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry" she said pulling her daughter into a hug as she sobbed in between apologies

"Mom, its okay. This isn't your fault" Hanna said as tears streamed down her face

Laying in his bed, listening to his ipod, Lucas drifted in and out of sleep as he just couldn't fall asleep as quickly as he had hoped. Massaging his neck, Lucas quickly sat up in the bed to give his neck the proper attention it deserved. Feeling as if he had just about got the kinks out, he got up from his bed to walk over to his desk to grab the bottle of Aleves out of top desk drawer before he could see Hanna pacing her room in tears. Her emotions had caught his attention for a moment before he realized that he was intruding on her moment of weakness so he did his best to go about his own business but found it hard to do so. Just as he turned back to his bed, he saw her mom get in the car and quickly drive off, which was strange because she was home early and whenever she did get home she made it point to stay in. Looking back over to Hanna's room, he saw her still in despair for whatever reason. Without even realizing it, Lucas grabbed his sweater and put it on as he opened the doors that lead him out to his roof before shimming down the side of the grapevine. He didn't know why he even felt the need to go over, but the way she looked seemed different. Picking up a rock on his way across the street, when he got in range, he flung the rock up at her window, after a few hits, Hanna finally opened the window and found herself surprised to see the dark haired boy outside her window in his pajamas and a dark blue sweater.

"I know this is beyond creepy, but…are you okay?" Lucas asked before a moment of silence fell between him as she didn't know whether to classify him as a possible suspect to be A or to think he had some sort of knack of conveniently showing up "I'm sorry. I'll just go home" he said turning to go back before she called out to him

"Lucas, wait" Hanna called out "I'll come down" she said before she pulled the window down, quickly grabbing a jacket as she made her way downstairs

Lucas walked around in what felt like circles, in complete disbelief that he actually had the nerve to come over to her house, much less do a Romeo and Juliet type of move to let her know that he knew she was upset about something. Going back and forth in his head, he was torn from his thoughts by the sudden appearance of Hanna. Walking over towards her so that could meet halfway, Hanna stopped short to see if this was really happening.

"You just happen to be in the area again?" Hanna asked

"Yeah, something like that" Lucas replied

"I'm fine. I was just being a drama queen like always" Hanna said

"So that's why you were crying like that, because you're a drama queen?" Lucas asked

"Your getting bold" Hanna replied instinctively at the thought of being questioned

"Not trying to pry" Lucas said

"Things are just messed up" Hanna said

"Is your mom home?" Lucas asked

"Lucas, you know I've been crying and now your asking if my mom is home, just what exactly is your deal? Are you stalking me or something?" Hanna asked defensively

"No" Lucas replied

"Then how do you know all these things? You've got to be paying close attention to know this stuff, what else do you know about me that I apparently thought was private" Hanna asked becoming upset by the minute

"Look, I'm sorry. I just…I just thought that you were upset about something, and I just happened to see you from my room" Lucas said

"Your room? Where do you live?" Hanna asked

"Hanna, I live at the same place that I've always been since I've been born" Lucas replied

"That still doesn't answer my question" Hanna replied

"I live across the street from you. Right behind me is my home" Lucas said before Hanna looked across the way to notice his last name was plastered on the welcome sign of the house

"Oh. Sorry" Hanna said embarrassed "That's still weird, you looking at me through your window and everything" she commented

"I'm sorry. I'm really collecting the sorry's to the point where I need to purchase them in bulk" Lucas said noticing the redness in her eyes that reminded him of the fact that she was still upset about something "Do you want to come over and play Wii, it has the power to take anything stressful off your mind. My parents are probably still up watching hoarders on the discovery channel, so you won't be alone with me" he told her

"How do I know I can trust you?" Hanna asked

"Upper body of Screech. I'm pretty sure you can kick my ass if I tried anything" Lucas smiled at her before she gave in and gripped on tight to her sweater to keep herself warm as she walked across the way to his house while he followed behind her


	3. Just When I Think I Know You

Chapter Three- Just When I Think I Know You

Her eyes fluttered opened to a surrounding that she wasn't familiar with, rolling over onto her side she saw him laying on the floor curled up with a blanket and a pillow. Hanna didn't exactly remember what caused her to spend the night in what appeared to be his room, but it beat being at home alone. Her mom had decided to go talk to her grandmother to see if she could get a loan from her so they could at least manage to have two months to figure out what they were going to do, that night her mom left she had promised to return the following evening but had specifically told Hanna to be careful, if only she knew that she spent the night at a boys house. Slowly getting up from the bed to grab her shoes, Hanna's effort to be stealth wasn't quite successful as Lucas began to stir awake. Putting her shoes on as she walked over to sit on the edge of his bed while he sat up.

"Good morning" Lucas smiled half asleep before he quickly became alarmed by what he said "Good morning" he said again as she laughed at how he could be such a dork at times

"Good morning to you too Lucas" Hanna said as she began to tie her shoes afraid to look at her cell phone

"So you spent the night. How did that happen?" Lucas asked

"We must've played Wii until we fell asleep" Hanna recounted of last nights events "I beat you, badly, I might add" she said

"I put the game on beginner, your suppose to have a chance to beat me" Lucas laughed as he got up from the floor and threw his blanket and pillow onto his bed

"We broke rules. Is this against virgin club rules to stay the night with the opposite sex?" Hanna asked

"We didn't have sex, so we're fine. Less in case you violated me in my sleep then that's a different case" Lucas said

"Your still a virgin" Hanna said

"That's always nice to know, again and again" Lucas said running his fingers through his messy hair "Do you want breakfast or something?" he asked her

"I think I should get home. My friend is getting released from the hospital and we're going to welcome her home" Hanna told him

"Oh, okay. Uh, you don't have to worry about me telling anybody about last night. This remains last night, and nowhere else" Lucas told her

"That would probably be for the best" Hanna said "You didn't have to sleep on the floor, so that was nice of you. Thank you for that" she said

"I thought I would do the gentlemen like thing to do, and let you have your space. Plus you snore" Lucas said

"I do not" Hanna declared

"Yeah, you do, which is perfectly fine for your nasal passages because it loosens up phlegm" Lucas told her as she looked on with disgust of his description

"TMI Lucas" Hanna said as she turned to open the door to the roof before she turned back to Lucas "Thank you for being there" she said before she knelt down to go down the grapevine

Emily adjusted herself in her bed, trying to get the uneasy comfort out of her side that had been there since her fall. Aria, Spencer, and Hanna all pulled out the cartons of Chinese food they had picked up on their way over to her house while she just tried to endure the pain. Spencer handed Emily her food before they each grabbed a seat on a portion of Emily's oversized bed, poking away at their food. For a moment it felt like it used to be with them, where they just all fell into a routine of being with each other where words weren't exactly important to them hanging out because they knew all the basics about each other, but the one thing that drew them closer was Ali, and that at times was the worst of their problems.

"I can't believe they didn't charge Toby with anything" Spencer said

"I can, he's probably studied how to kill and getaway with it" Hanna said

"Guys, I'm not even sure he pushed me. I just remember running from him and then waking up in the hospital room" Emily said

"Lesson one was probably knock them out before they draw attention to you" Hanna said before they all just looked at her "I'm trying to help make sense of this" she said

"Well that still doesn't change the fact that Toby and Jenna were getting it on" Aria said

"I don't think it was mutual or at least I don't see how it could be, Jenna is supposedly blind and she trusts him. Toby could have used that to his advantage" Hanna said

"Which still makes him a perv regardless" Spencer said

"Can we talk about something else other than Toby, I all ready feel like an idiot for taking him to the stupid homecoming dance" Emily said upset with herself

"Em, its not your fault. You were giving him the benefit of the doubt" Hanna told her

"He can be convincing with his whole loner act" Aria added

"But still, he could have killed Alison" Emily said

"But notice that ever since the other night, we haven't received any texts from A" Spencer pointed out

"Wrong, I got one from A" Hanna said

"About what?" Spencer asked

"A knew something personal about my family" Hanna said

"So could it still be Toby? I mean the spotlight is not as bright as it was after Homecoming but he could be doing this to get back at us for ruining his plan" Aria said

"Which included getting rid of me" Emily added

"Call me crazy but a part of me doesn't think its Toby. Yes, the obvious choice would be him, but he knows all suspicions would go to him and could cause a search to happen at any point. He's too easy, and I think A wants it to be challenging" Hanna concluded

"So we go back to the drawing board" Spencer sighed

"We pretty much have to play by A's terms, until they decide to reveal themselves" Aria said

"So basically the hell has only just begun" Hanna said as they all looked at each other worriedly

Walking into Mr. Smith's classroom, Lucas scanned the room to find his teacher looking and editing on his computer in the back of the classroom. Turning once he heard Lucas walk inside Mr. Smith smiled on at his favorite pupil. Lucas wasn't one to enjoy his weekends, he pretty much consider Saturdays and Sundays as another day to work on his software or just to work period. Grabbing a seat in the chair next to Mr. Smith, Lucas couldn't help but be amazed at the computer equipment that Mr. Smith had collected, almost to the point where he felt envious. Turning his attention to Lucas, Mr. Smith smiled as if he had won the jackpot before he pulled out a check out of a stack of papers he had on the desk.

"Is this like bribery?" Lucas asked as Mr. Smith handed the check to him

"This Lucas is you winning. Your proposal was a hit with the club that they have decided to fund your software" Mr. Smith said proudly

"Fund. Wow! This is a lot of money" Lucas said looking at the amount that was given to him

"This is a country club, they're always looking to jump on the next big thing" Mr. Smith said

"This is a lot of faith in the next big thing. I don't even think I've put this much faith in myself" Lucas said

"Lucas, you've been accepted to one of the most prestigious young minds school and your about to make the next big software that could be bigger than Windows 7" Mr. Smith said "Why am I not feeling the excitement?" he said

"Oh, I'm excited. I just don't know, I don't know if I want to just rush off to this school" Lucas said

"Lucas you hate Rosewood, you've repeatedly told me this over and over" Mr. Smith said not understanding where this sudden confusion was coming from

"I just feel like I'm going to miss something, I feel like there is something here that keeps me the slightest bit of intrigued with Rosewood" Lucas said

"And that would be?" Mr. Smith asked

"I don't know yet" Lucas replied

"This is an opportunity of a lifetime, your making a mistake" Mr. Smith said

"Aren't you suppose to encourage me to follow my heart?" Lucas asked just as Alton had managed to make his way inside the classroom listening to his ipod

"Is it him?" Mr. Smith asked turning to look at Alton who took a seat on the desk closest to us

"Not a long shot" Lucas laughed

"What are we talking about?" Alton asked

"We're talking about your friends success" Mr. Smith said

"Way to go, Lucas! Now we're going to be losers for sure" Alton said making Lucas laugh

"Thank you both for the support" Lucas said

"Good news for you, he's not sure if he should go" Mr. Smith

"We're back in the game again. Look, that chick Mona is throwing a party tonight, we should go" Alton suggested

"We're not invited" Lucas reminded his friend "You see, we're here and Mona is here" he said showing the levels of popularity with his hands to Alton

"Which is why we're mixing things up. I've got a plan" Alton smiled in a devious way

"Yeah, your best bet is to leave Rosewood so you could at least lose your virginity before you graduate because if you stay with him you might as well forget about it" Mr. Smith told him

It was always a drastic change whenever Hanna would hang out with Spencer and the girls to hanging out with Mona. The worlds had managed to collide all thanks to A, so Hanna found it a bit tiring to always have to explain to Mona why she was hanging out with them. Texting the word out for Mona's party, Hanna was definitely not catching a moment to think about when A was going to strike next. Walking through the mall, Mona wasted no penny trying to buy anything and everything, while all Hanna could do was busy herself with party details, which were coming to an end soon. Grabbing a seat in the food court, Hanna was tempted to just buy a chili dog and just chow down, but she knew her binge eating would only lead to her gaining weight and that was the last thing she needed on her mind.

"So did you get everybody?" Mona asked

"Just about. This party is going to be epic" Hanna smiled

"Lets hope. My parents almost cancelled their trip because they thought I was going to throw a party" Mona said

"But you are throwing a party" Hanna reminded her

"Yes, but they had no right to judge me" Mona laughed

"You are so bad" Hanna laughed "This will be exactly what I need after the crapfest of a week I had" she said

"Sean really is out on the market again, how do you feel about that?" Mona asked

"I don't care, but I kind of care. Its weird" Hanna told her

"Well there will be plenty of men for you to pick from tonight to take your mind off of virgin Sean" Mona laughed

"That's what I was hoping for" Hanna smiled just before her cell phone began to vibrate. She instinctively thought that it was one of her classmates calling for more details on the party, but as soon she flipped open her phone she was quickly disappointed to see that it was A with a new text message "Hey do you think you can get me a smoothie?" she asked

"Sure" Mona said before she got up to go grab the smoothies

"Parties are meant to cut loose, loosen up your lips because who your lips connect with will be at my choosing, A" Hanna read to herself thinking this should be interesting, now A was going to be dictating her dating life "This will be interesting" she said just as Mona came back to the table

"What will?" Mona asked as she took a seat at the table

"Noel is bring Jessica, that's going to interesting to see" Hanna lied

The music blared as the two boys approached the house, feeling nervous with every step they took towards the house. People were either getting plastered on the side of the house or grinding on the dance floor once they entered into the house. Lucas felt a bit at ease once they got into the house further because he had anticipated getting picked on as soon as they entered but luckily that wasn't the case. Quickly spotting Hanna, Aria, and Spencer off in the corner talking, he almost had the nerve to walk over to Hanna and say hello but he remembered the setting that they were in. He was still in disbelief that Hanna Marin had spent the night over at his house, but he knew that that would have to stay between him. Alton did his best to try to appear like he belonged, but the more he tried, the more embarrassing it became. Lucas stood off in the corner looking on at everyone else having the time of their lives.

Handing Spencer another cup of beer, Hanna found it quite refreshing that the always perfect Spencer was sipping on a beer, but then again Spencer could let loose and prove people wrong. Aria on the other hand loved a good beer to unwind with, especially with all the drama going on at her house, she had been acting differently since the homecoming but Spencer and Hanna had chalked it up to A get the best of her because they all knew that A was destroying them individually.

"I wish Em was here" Spencer said

"She would have loved to have a night out" Hanna laughed

"I think this was a good idea, to just relax and take our mind off of everything" Spencer said

"And I will take that as my round of thank you Hanna" Hanna laughed

"Isn't that the guy you were with at the Homecoming dance?" Aria asked noticing Lucas and his friend in the corner of the room

"Yeah, that's Lucas" Hanna said "I don't remember Mona inviting him" she said

"I bet that will upset her" Spencer said

"Mona is probably upstairs hooking up with someone, she has no time to be upset" Hanna said

"Did he see the file on Toby?" Aria asked

"No, I had him wait outside" Hanna said

"Where is Sean?" Spencer asked

"Sean and I, we broke up" Hanna said

"When?" Spencer asked

"The other day, but I don't want to talk about that" Hanna said

"Yes" Aria agreed

The crowd had pretty much gathered around the dance floor, watching a few of the dancers of the class show off their skills. While everyone had all their attention towards the dance floor, Hanna was glad that she hadn't run into Sean. She knew that he was here just by the whispers she heard from various people, but she was determined to not let that mess with her evening. Circling the room like a social butterfly, Hanna felt the need to solidify her standing as the Queen Bee and quick. Just as she felt a bit at ease with her progress, she felt her cell phone vibrate against her hip. Reluctantly pulling her cell phone out to see that it was just what she thought.

"I spy a boy in need of your kiss. Don't be shy, give it all you got. He's new to this, but its okay experienced Hanna will take care of virgin Lucas, I'll buzz again when I feel the kiss has lasted long enough, A" Hanna read to herself feeling as her world was about to collapse. Of course she found Lucas easy to talk to when he wasn't apologizing all the time but to kiss him in front everyone that she knew, that knew her was going to be the death of her social standing, but she feared what A would do, seeing as the last time she ignore A's message she paid for it dearly. Building up the nerve, Hanna quickly made her way over towards Lucas who looked like he was heading out the door until she quickly grabbed a hold of him and pulled him into a deep and passionate kiss. Hanna was pretty sure that the attention had turned to them as she literally felt like she was mauling Lucas on the floor, but the weird part about it was that she felt like she was on fire. Maybe that was her embarrassment starting to kick in, but the more Lucas caressed her back and sensually kissed her back, the more she felt like there was some sort spark between the two until she felt the vibration against her leg. Quickly pulling away from his embrace, Hanna quickly left the room leaving Lucas speechless as he followed after her

Cursing herself over and over in her head, Hanna walked through the house to where she was at the foyer. Feeling another vibration against her leg, she angrily pulled her cell phone out to see yet another message from A.

"Glad you did as told, but there seems to be another pair of loose lips. Open the door and walk down the driveway and you'll see, A" Hanna read to herself feeling as if her heart sunk to the pitt of her stomach as she did as instructed. Walking down the driveway, Hanna could hear Lucas following behind her, but she was fixated on trying to figure out just what A wanted to see so that she blocked him out. Quickening her pace, Hanna stopped dead in her tracks once she spotted just what exactly A was talking about. Aria. With Sean.

"You. Bitch" Hanna said almost using up every ounce of air to say it before the two quickly pulled apart

"Hanna" Aria said before Hanna cut her off

"So this is the guy you've been all sad about. My boyfriend, you were trying to get with my boyfriend?" Hanna yelled

"I was never upset about a guy. Look, this was just….a mistake" Aria reasoned

"No us being friends again was a mistake, and you! What are you banging her now because everyone knows Aria is far from innocent in that department" Hanna said

"Hanna, we're not together anymore" Sean reasoned

"Oh, so that just gives you the right to make out with a person I thought was my best friend?" Hanna asked

"No. This just happened" Aria said "There is nothing between us" she said as Sean turned to her

"It seems like Sean thinks otherwise" Hanna said noticing Seans behavior towards Aria "You two deserve each other because you can both go to hell" she said quickly pushing past them with Lucas following behind her yet again

"Hanna. Hanna, wait!" Lucas called out

"Go away Lucas!" Hanna said

"I'm not going to leave you. Your obviously upset with what happened back there" Lucas said

"Then you should know to leave me alone" Hanna said not slowing down for nothing on her quicken path back home before Lucas ran in front of her, stopping her "Get out the way" she told him

"No" Lucas said bravely before Hanna began to hit him. Lucas endured as much beating as he could before he eventually fell to the floor

"You don't know me, so stop pretending like you do. We're not friends, and we'll never be. Your beneath me. I only made out with you back there because I was dared to but I was so mortified that I had to kiss you that I had to leave. I didn't expect to see Sean and his slut, so that threw me off but you and I will never be" Hanna said angrily as she stood above him on the ground as he tried not to cry in humiliation "So do yourself a favor and stay away from me or else I'll destroy you personally" she said before she stormed off. Getting up from the ground, Lucas watched Hanna walk off into the night, and usually some part of him would want to be there for her, but in this moment he knew that the girl he had admired or at least liked wasn't who he thought she was, not by a long shot


	4. Calling All Friends

Chapter Four- Calling All Friends

It would be easy to forget that he had gotten humiliated at Mona's party, but the fact that everyone had witnessed the kiss and maybe a few had seen Hanna punch him so hard that he fell to the floor, which was before she called him what he always knew he was, a loser. Over the weekend he had thought more and more about going away to Winthrop. Winthrop was basically a prestigious school for young intellects that were going to come out with the next big thing, only few had gotten in, he was probably the only person in Rosewood that would be getting out before he could even graduate, Winthrop was his ticket out of this social hierarchy of a town to him. Pulling into the school parking lot, Lucas braced himself for another long week of high school hell as he turned of the engine, while Alton primped himself like he was some big deal about to walk through the hallways. Making their way inside all Lucas could hear were girls whispering and laughing at him like he had suspected. Stopping by his locker to grab his books, Alton smiled at all the recognition that they were getting.

"Man, look at all this attention your getting" Alton said happily

"Its not because of what you think" Lucas sighed

"You made out with Hanna Marin. I think I've found the winner" Alton replied "Why are you happy? You got to make out with Hanna Marin" he said

"Trust me, she's not the girl we think she is. She's like them in every way" Lucas said

"Who cares? I mean all we have to do is use her for her popularity, and we'll be set for life" Alton said

"Your delusional" Lucas said "Stop daydreaming" he said

"So I take it by this newfound attitude is leaning your towards Winthrop?" Alton asked

"I have a meeting with the board on Friday night" Lucas told Alton before he slammed his locker shut before he walked off

Helping Emily get to her seat, Hanna looked on at Lucas as he came in and grabbed his seat in the class. Emily adjusted herself in her seat while she noticed Hanna's attention turn towards her rumored make out partner at this past weekends party. On top of the many rumors, Emily had also heard of what had happened between Hanna and Aria, just when she thought they were all making an effort to be friends again she couldn't believe that Aria would do that to Hanna. Taking the seat next to Emily, Hanna had begun to put on her make up to distract herself from making eye contact with Aria, who had just entered the room.

"So I take it that you are still upset with Aria?" Emily asked

"Upset is an understatement. I want to destroy her" Hanna said

"Okay, I guess things didn't get better over the weekend" Emily said

"I caught her making out with Sean, that doesn't get better over the weekend. Let's not talk about you know who because we'll have differing opinions regardless, lets talk about Maya?" Hanna asked

"And we can't talk about that either" Emily replied

"Why? I mean we both know how you really feel about her, so what's with the hold up?" Hanna asked

"We've discussed that, and I don't think English class is a place to talk about it" Emily said nervously just as two jocks walked in and began to hassle Lucas.

Knocking his books to the floor and messing with his hair, Lucas contemplated even motioning because he knew that if he moved an ounce that they would think he was trying to fight back, and that was the last thing he needed. He could hear a few snickers from everyone else in the class, and he knew that was all the jocks needed in continuing on with his assault before the teacher arrived. Unable to take anymore of the hassle, Hanna got up from her seat and walked over towards where Lucas was.

"Hey, guys, leave him alone" Hanna told them

"Oh, we forgot, this is your new boyfriend now" One jock laughed

"What Sean not satisfying you so you had to downgrade?" The other asked Hanna before she turned to look at Aria who was squirming in her seat to see the look Hanna gave her

"Who I'm dating is none of your business, but just know it will never be either of you. If I remember correctly, weren't you two the ones that got caught without your pants and only a sock, on your…" Hanna teased before one cut her off in midsentence before she could continue

"That was a joke. I'm not some fag" The jock said and with harshness he had in his voice when he said that word, Emily cringed in fear

"First of all, stop acting your shoe size, and dial it down with the language. I never insinuated that you were gay or any other derogatory language, where you took that was all on you. So just shut up before you lose any possibility of being found attractive, that is before you open your mouth, and sit down" Hanna lectured the two getting a few praises for how she handled them swiftly and quickly with her knowledge as the two jocks took their seats. Looking over at Emily, who smiled in thankfulness that Hanna was sticking up for whatever gender preferences she had. It definitely warmed Emily's heart to know that the Queen Bee was on her side, but most of all a friend to her. Bending down to pick up his books, Hanna placed his books on Lucas's desk

"I didn't need your help" Lucas said as he began to gather his stuff just as she placed it on his desk

"Okay. I was just trying to help you out since it was clear they weren't going to let up" Hanna reasoned

"Yeah, well at least they make it clear that they despise me, but your just like them so don't let this moment get to your head too much because you don't differ too much" Lucas said just as he got his backpack and moved to the back of the class leaving Hanna speechless. She knew that she had hurt him badly after the party, and more than anything she wanted him to know that she took her anger out on him, which wasn't fair to him. Preparing to walk back to her seat, Hanna quickly felt a vibration come from her cell phone, pulling her cell phone out of her pockets she opened up the phone not surprised to see that it was A that sent her a text

"Now you know Aria is not as good as you think, but its interesting to know that her grades will never be on the brink, nor will she have to worry about graduating either because I know for a fact that she's kissing the teacher" Hanna read to herself before she quickly looked up in shock over at Aria. In her mind she knew this was going to be the scandal of the year for Rosewood, and would be the perfect revenge for little miss loose lips

All day long she sat on the secret of Aria and Mr. Fitz hooking up, and all day long she racked her head thinking how she could pay Aria back, she was thinking big, big humiliation but then there was a part of her that just wanted to blackmail the hell out Aria and make her suffer. Regardless of what she wanted to do, she had to figure out what was the best way to handle the Aria problem. Sitting at the kitchen counter while picking away at one of her mothers salad's, she looked across the street to see if Lucas had made it home yet. A bit peeved that he was still upset about what she said to him, she needed something to help her cope with the fact that she was going to have to go out of her way to make things up with him. Coming in from a long day of work, Hanna's mom was more than happy to start in on the bowl of salad that Hanna had out as she put her stuff down in the kitchen before grabbing a fork to join her daughter.

"How was work?" Hanna asked her mother

"Long and tedious would be a nicer way of putting it" Hanna's mother replied "But I have to put that aside for the greater good, and school?" she asked

"Long and tedious as well" Hanna smiled "So did grandma wire you the money?" she asked

"She could only give me a little bit of it, but since I've picked up another job so it will give us a tad bit of breathing room" Hanna's mother said

"I don't know why you won't ask dad for the money, we're his family too" Hanna said

"Because I pride myself on being independent" Hanna's mother replied

"Yeah, but dad should have to suffer as much as we are. He's out living it up with his new life, while we have struggle through this old one" Hanna complained

"Okay, your being a little melodramatic. We'll be fine, I promise you that. So I trust you won't breath a word of this to him this weekend" Hanna's mother said

"Maybe I shouldn't go. I don't want to leave you alone" Hanna said concerned about her mother

"Hanna, I'll be fine. I want you have a relationship with your father, that's very important to me" Hanna's mother told her

"Yeah, but I don't want you staying in eating up all the ice cream, watching I love Lucy marathons" Hanna said

"I work hard, so I deserve a day to relax" Hanna's mother laughed

"Fine, but I'm going to hate every moment of it" Hanna smiled just as she noticed Lucas's car pull up in his driveway. She wanted to rush over an attempt conversation with him, but she knew that he probably didn't even want to see her at this point, and with the stuff she said to him, she didn't blame him one bit.

Walking down the hallway, her eyes had locked in on her target of assassination and all she could think to do was destroy, but her meeting with the girls took more precedence as they had a loose canon called A on the loose. She wanted to help figure out what exactly this A was all about, but she knew that A wanted to pit them all against each other by exposing secrets left and right. The thing that worried her the most was what secrets were being exposed about her that made her a little wary to go through with her plan she had formed over and over in her head. Once Hanna had gotten closer to Aria and the girls, Hanna quickly pulled Aria into a open classroom that was vacated. Closing the door behind her, Hanna quickly set her purse down on the table before she went over to pull the shade down on the door so Spencer and Emily wouldn't see what was about to happen and wouldn't come in because she had locked the door. Nervous as to what Hanna would do, Aria began to move towards the back of the class so that she could at least access where she would run if Hanna had begun to attack her.

"I know what this is about" Aria said calmly trying to approach the drama between them

"You really don't so just shut up and let me talk" Hanna said "You have no idea how much I want to punch your face in for what you did, and I've even ran the thought of humiliating you with the piece of information I have on you. That night A text me about Sean and you" she told her

"So A was there?" Aria concluded

"Or you're a big whore that finally got exposed, I'm having a hard time believing which one is true, but that's besides the point" Hanna said

"Wait, what information do you have on me? Is this from A?" Aria asked

"Cut the crap, just expose your secret because I know" Hanna said becoming annoyed with Aria's need to play dumb

"Look are you bluffing me so that you can get information on me so you can humiliate me as you said?" Aria asked

"If I did want to humiliate you, I would have done so with a little text message I received from A. I know your screwing Mr. Fitz" Hanna revealed to Aria who looked like she was about to pee in her pants

"You know" Aria said softly "What are you going to do with this information?" she asked

"Like I said, I have contemplated time and time to use this against you, but since I'm pretty sure that A is spilling some of my secrets as well, I won't. That is until we figure out who A is, after that, all bets are off" Hanna threatened her before she grabbed her bag

"Thank you" Aria said

"Don't thank me because you mean nothing to me, and like you've all ready chosen, this friendship means nothing to me" Hanna told her before she opened the door to find Emily and Spencer standing there anxiously. Giving a final look back at Aria, Hanna quickly walked off to leave the girls to wonder what A was up to but most of all what was Hanna going to do

Today was big, at least he thought, but it just felt like every other day for him, where he woke up went to school, hoped he wouldn't get the crap beaten out of him, and then he would have to suffer through hanging out with Alton, who's only goal was to climb the social ladder in every aspect of his life. Alton had come up with the great idea to have a celebration dinner in honor of his acceptance into Winthrop that was going to happen in less than five hours. Lucas wanted more than anything to enjoy his cold cheese fries and to ignore the occasional looks from the popular kids that hung out at the very diner Alton had decided to take them to, but all he could think about was the commitment he was about to make to Winthrop, and how everything was going to change. Getting up to have his cheese fries reheated so he could at least have a meal on his stomach before go ahead of the board, Lucas waited at the counter just as Mona and some of her friends came up.

It had been two hours since her mother had dropped her off at the train station, Hanna waited patiently for her father to come but the more and more she sat, all she could think about was stupid she felt to think that her dad even gave a damn about her anymore. Trying to call her mom would have been hopeless seeing as she didn't turn her cell phone on at work until break, and with her new job she didn't know when her break would be this late at night. She thought about calling her dad to berate him on how crappy he was as a father, and how she wished he were dead. So much ran through her head, but the one thing she wanted most was to just get home. Sending a quick text to Mona, Hanna had hoped that she'd come through for her like she always did.

Still waiting for his cheese fries, Lucas had become annoyed that the wait for reheating fries has turned to more than two minutes. Usually he wouldn't mind the ten minute wait but having to listen to Mona and her groupies talk about the most trivial things known to man had reached his annoyance level in ways that he couldn't even imagine. He wanted so bad to just choke the living crap out of her or throw the nearest shake on top of her head, but reality always brought him back to realize that any jock in the place would pounce on him and would be happy to beat the living crap out of him.

"Oh, my God. I can't believe she's texting me now" Mona told her friends

"Is it Hanna again?" The girl asked

"Yes. Like I would talk to her after she's ditched me for her loser friends" Mona said

"Aren't you her best friend?" The girl asked

"Yes, but I'm not going to kiss her ass" Mona replied

"What is she saying? Is she trying to hang out?" The girl asked

"No, she wants me to burn my gas to come pick her up at the train station" Mona laughed "She should call one of her little buddies to come get her, oh, wait, they don't have a car" she joked causing her friends to get a kick out of her jokes on Hanna

"That's so mean" The girls laughed

"Its called payback" Mona said before she couldn't help to break out in a fit of laughter with her friends. Lucas tried his best to ignore the fact that he just heard Hanna was stranded at the train station that happened to be about four hours away, but the more he listened to Mona talk about Hanna, the more he felt outraged. Quickly walking over to Alton, Lucas grabbed the car keys and quickly walked out to the parking lot with Alton right behind him.

"Okay, you mind telling me what your doing?" Alton asked

"I have to go somewhere. Your gonna have to find another ride home" Lucas said stopping at the car door

"Uh, I thought you were going to take me home?" Alton asked

"Alton, I have to leave. I really have to leave" Lucas told his friend

"But where? You have the meeting at eight with the board, so where do you have to go?" Alton asked

"Somewhere, I have to go somewhere" Lucas said before he opened the car door and got in. Taking a deep breath, realizing that what he was doing he couldn't take back, Lucas started the car up and quickly pulled out of the parking lot.

Laying across the bench, clutching on tight to her thin layered sweater, Hanna did her best to try to get comfortable because there was no signs that she was going to get picked up anytime tonight until her mom got in, and even then that would have been a hit or miss with the timing. She had given up hope that Mona was going to come because she wasn't even answering her text messages. Now all Hanna could do was make the most of this situation and try to get ahold of her mother in the day. Hearing footsteps come her way, Hanna feared what pervert could be walking through the station, so all she could do was close her eyes and hope they would pass without messing with her.

"Hanna" Lucas said walking over towards her "Hanna" he said again before she quickly turned to see that it was him. Quickly getting up from her seat, Hanna hugged Lucas as tight as she could

"I'm sorry" Hanna cried

"C'mon lets get you home" Lucas said before he let her go to grab her luggage

By the time they had made it back to Rosewood it was one in the morning, looking over at the blonde, who was asleep. He knew all that he had risked tonight by going to pick her up at the train station, but he couldn't just let her be the joke of the diner by Mona and her friends. Hanna had begun to stir awake noticing that they were finally at home, looking over at Lucas, who seemed to be dead tired after driving nearly eight hour all together just to come get her. For a moment the two just sat in silence, unsure as to what they should say to the other before Hanna finally broke the silence.

"Thank you for coming to get me" Hanna said

"Don't know why, but I did" Lucas sighed as he massaged his forehead in frustration

"How did you even know?" Hanna asked

"Your friends, or you so called friend Mona, was joking about how pathtic you were to think she'd come get you after you ditched her for your other set of friends. Maybe you should cut back on the friends because apparently the ones you think are you friends don't really care about you" Lucas told her

"Maybe I should" Hanna sighed "So you came and got me, after what I said to you" she said

"Because Hanna, people are suppose to do nice things for others. That's an unspoken law or something, do nice things for people and they will in turn be nice to you" Lucas said

"If I haven't said it all ready, I'm sorry for what I said. I was upset about Aria and Sean, so I just took it out on you because you were there" Hanna said

"Yeah, well I'll keep my distance when your upset because its clear you lash out" Lucas said trying not to smile as he looked at her but found it hard not to

"So if your knowledgeable on how to handle me in future settings, does that mean your not mad at me anymore?" Hanna asked

"No, I'm not mad at you anymore, I think you being abandoned at a train station is suffice enough" Lucas said as he got out the car

"How about we keep that fact between us" Hanna said as she got out closing the door behind her as she walked over towards him

"I'm not going to breath a word of this to anyone, I know you have this whole popularity thing to protect, so there's nothing to worry about" Lucas said "Goodnight Hanna" he said before he turned to walk toward his house

"My mom isn't home. She probably won't be home until the morning, and she doesn't quite know I'm back. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't want to be alone tonight because I get scared easily…" Hanna rambled before Lucas cut her off

"We're taking the game off of beginner mode because I don't want you to have false hope that you can beat me. No one beats me at Wii" Lucas told her

"That's what you think" Hanna smiled before she passed him on her way over to his house with Lucas following behind her as they enjoyed their banter of trash talking


	5. When Word Don't Seem To Cut It

**AUTHORS NOTE: Thank you all for the positive reviews you have sent me, I do appreciate them and they truly give me need to write more chapters the instant I receive them. I usually write at night, so I'll probably update mostly at night, and if I'm on a real writers kick I'll update that night and again the following day in the afternoon. Hanna insecurities will definitely be explored, so have no fear you will get you some Hanna drama, and of course Lucas because he's got depth written all over him. Please keep up the reviews, they help so much on level that encourages the writer to keep going because without them we think we're just wasting our time. So I hope you enjoy and look for another update tomorrow afternoon.**

Chapter Five- When Words Don't Seem To Cut It

She always knew she was antsy sleeper, no spot in her bed made her comfortable longer than an hour, but as she lay peacefully in his bed she found some sort of comfort of smelling his scent, it was like whenever she would lay in her parents bed when they were out at some dinner party, the scent of her father always made her feel protected and safe. Hanna's head rested peacefully against the pillow as if it were a perfect fit to cotton combination of comfort, pulling the pillow even closer so that it surrounded her whole head just as Lucas began to sit up on the floor. Slowly peeking up at the blonde, who had rested in his bed from the night previously after long bouts of Wii, Lucas found himself in a trance of her beauty. Everything about her made him smile or weak to any opposition that couldn't believe an angel was now earthbound. Noticing the rebellious strand that broke away from the ponytail she had her hair in, he reached out cautiously to pull it away from her face and behind her ear, just as he brought his hand back to his undeserving body she began to stir. Quickly acting as if he just at the very moment woke from his slumber, Lucas yawned and stretched as a ploy in his acting capabilities to fool her. Shyly looking over at the dark haired boy, who she came to realize had a serious case of bed head in the morning, Hanna checked her face to make sure that she hadn't drooled or anything on her face

"And here you are again. Good morning" Lucas said kicking his feet out from under his blanket as he began to feel the affects of sleeping on the floor

"This makes two times that I've slept over here, is this a usual thing for you, entertaining girls?" Hanna asked pulling the covers off of her as she stretched

"Oh, wow! You really think highly of me" Lucas laughed "The last girl that slept in my room was my cousin" he laughed

"Well there you go" Hanna laughed as she looked over at the clock on his bedside table "Oh, crap. My mom should be home by now" she said quickly jumping out of the bed into a quick scurry around the room

"Is she going to be mad that you spent the night over here?" Lucas asked

"No, I'll just tell her I stayed at Emily's house" Hanna said as she put her shoes on just as Lucas's bedroom door opened with an overly excited Alton walking through it. Stopping dead in his tracks once he saw Hanna sitting on the edge of his bed hunched over looking as if she was being caught doing something inappropriate, Alton quickly turned his attention to Lucas, who wasted no time springing up from the door to run across the room towards the door. Pulling Alton in the room so that his parents wouldn't see that he had a girl in his room.

"Do you know who you are?" Alton asked extremely caught up in the awe of Hanna Marin as Hanna looked at him weirdly amused

"Yes, I do" Hanna laughed

"I'm sorry" Lucas told Hanna before he turned to Alton "What do you want?" he asked him

"I was coming by to congratulate you on Winthrop, but I see you've all ready celebrated" Alton replied

"Its not like that, so you can think otherwise" Lucas told her

"I don't believe I know your name?" Hanna asked Alton

"My name is Alton Weaver" Alton introduced himself

"Al go home before you do something stupid" Lucas said

"I'm Hanna, but you apparently all ready know. Are you two best friends?" Hanna asked

"I happen to think so. I like to view myself as the star to his gate, his star to his wars" Alton said trying to sound sophisticated to his role in Lucas's life which made Hanna laugh

"I'm truly sorry about him, he tends to be much at times" Lucas apologized to Hanna

"Lucas, stop apologizing. Alton here is your friend, he seems entertaining" Hanna smiled as she got up from the bed

"So did you two party hard last night after the meeting?" Alton asked

"Meeting? What meeting?" Hanna asked grabbing a seat at his desk before she prepared for her climb down

"Nothing" Lucas said before Alton continued on with what he was saying previously

"My friend here is a braniac, who has just gotten accepted into one of the most prestigious schools. Lucas, here is on the fast track out of Rosewood" Alton boasted happily in honor of Lucas who seemed to hang is head in embarrassment. Hanna began to process what Alton was saying slowly realizing what had happened, tearing her attention away from Alton she looked over at Lucas to get the confirmation that she needed to know. Many questions ran through her mind as to why but she wanted to wait before opening that topic up

"I have to get home. Thanks for last night" Hanna said before she walked over to the door and made her way out to the grapevine as both Lucas and Alton watched her every movement

"Can you not take a hint!" Lucas said punching Alton on the arm before he could comfort the bruise that was about to form on his arm from the punch

"What? I was trying to join in on the celebration. Tell me, how is she in the sack?" Alton smiled

"Your disgusting" Lucas said pushing past Alton and over to his bed, to make it up

"You had sex, that's the only reason why she was in here" Alton declared

"No, she was in here because I drove all the way out to the train station to pick her up because her father forgot that she was coming to visit her, and her stupid friend, Mona, who couldn't be bothered to even answer he texts, was ignoring her" Lucas explained

"Ohhhhh, so she had no idea about Winthrop then?" Alton asked understanding where Lucas was coming from

"Exactly" Lucas replied

"Then what the hell did you two do last night? If you two had sex then you better tell me" Alton said moving on to the next pointless conversation while all Lucas could do was leave his bedroom in annoyance "Hey, I live vicariously through you man" he yelled out before he followed behind Lucas

Running her fingers through her hair playfully as she let herself into the house, Hanna tossed her house keys aside on the foyer table as she made her way inside to the kitchen, where her mother sat at the counter drinking coffee. Grabbing the pint of orange juice from the fridge, Hanna made her and her mother a small breakfast before she joined her at the counter. Knowing her mother was tired from a long night of working and just basically dealing with all the stresses of this duo family they created without her father, Hanna wanted to let her mom sit in peace for a few moments before tearing her out of her peace. Before Hanna began to speak to her mother, she could see Lucas and Alton coming out of his house, with Alton clearly trying to get his attention, but Lucas was dead set on getting in the car. Hanna found Alton to be interesting like the usual creepy best friends that were obsessed with sex and girls, but were good people to have in your life, and no matter how embarrassed Lucas may have appeared once Alton came in, she could easily pick up on the fact that he did like having Alton around. Tearing herself away from evaluating the friendship of Lucas and Alton, Hanna quickly grabbed her mothers plate to put in the dishwasher so her mother wouldn't have to do anything strenuous.

"Your turning into the perfect daughter" Hanna's mother yawned

"That's because your overworking yourself mom" Hanna said

"Wait a minute, maybe I'm still tired from last night, but aren't you suppose to be at your dad's?" Hanna's mother asked

"Long story short, dad forgot I was coming, so now Isabel is calling me trying to plan a getaway trip for the four of us" Hanna said

"The four?" Hanna's mother asked

"Isabel, Kate, dad, and me" Hanna told her mother

"Sounds like the perfect family" Hanna's mother replied

"Stop it mom, you're my perfect family, you know that" Hanna told her mom

"Thank you for saying that, but why do I get the feeling you're a bit happy that your not with your dad this weekend?" Hanna's mother asked

"Well, I'm glad because I want to be here for you, since he clearly isn't taking care of his responsibilities. My place is here" Hanna declared

"Your so stubborn" Hanna's mother laughed

"I'm your daughter, that's how you raised me to be" Hanna laughed as she wrapped her arms around her mother's shoulders

"By the way, you got something in the mail" Hanna's mother said as Hanna broke free from her embrace

"Really? Is it Isabel mailing me my plane ticket?" Hanna joked as she walked over to the stack of mail in the foyer

"Funny. No, its from A. I guess whoever sent it to you wants to keep things secretive" Hanna's mother said just as Hanna found the orange envelope

"Yeah, A does love dealing with secrets" Hanna said to herself as she observed the envelope "Mom, I'm actually quite tired. Emily is an early riser, so I had to book it back home. I'm going to take a nap upstairs" she said before getting her mothers nod of approval

Rushing upstairs to her room, Hanna quickly busted into her room making sure to close the door behind her. Throwing the envelope down on the bed, Hanna looked at the envelope, contemplating what should she do. The little detective in her wanted to take the envelope to the police and have them trace every square inch of the envelope down to the adhesive on it, but she knew A wasn't one for games and if Hanna took it a step that wasn't calculated by A, she was sure that A would make a move back and it could be a big fatal to anyone of the four girls. Finally grabbing the bull by the horns, Hanna quickly grabbed the letter and opened it up shocked to find a the blown up picture of Emily and Maya kissing, and behind the picture was a type message.

"You can't always protect friends, even when you try. By tonight, everyone will know about our dear friend Emily and her lover" Hanna read just as a smaller picture fell gracefully to the floor, landing upward to reveal the depth of the secret that A knew. Looking down in shock, Hanna bent down to pick up the wallet size picture to see that it was Emily and Ali in a passionate kiss "What the hell is going on?" she said to herself in disbelief

Sifting through the new comic books that were in stock, Lucas did his best to block out Alton's attempts to hit on the random girls that came into the comic book shop. He had to admit that he did find the new ways of rejection that were being tested out on Alton were quite hilarious but he would never admit that to Alton. Going back to his sifting, Lucas was once again torn from his search by a party flyer that was on the floor, bending down to pick up the flyer he looked at it like it was a perfect sign sent from God. Walking away from the comic books, Lucas grabbed onto Alton and ushered him out the door. Alton made attempts to escape Lucas's clutches but he had forgot the fact Lucas's upper body strength was much more greater than his by so much more.

"Dude, I had a chance" Alton complained

"No, you really didn't. But I do have something that will put me in your good graces" Lucas smiled

"What? What are you all smiley about?" Alton asked wondering why Lucas had a goofy ass smile on his face

"You want a party, well we're going to one" Lucas said holding up the flyer before Alton grabbed onto it

"Since when are you a party goer, I usually have to drag you to these things. Is this about Hanna? Your going because you think that Hanna's going to be there?" Alton asked figuring out the sudden need to party by Lucas

"Exactly. This is my shot to get in the game" Lucas declared

"Get in the game? Oh, God you're an in the closet High School Musical fan. Zac Efron is no talent freak, you hear me, no talent ringleader of the High School Musical cast of wannabe's" Alton shouted

"Shut up! Tonight, I'm going to show Hanna that I exist. In the way that I want to exist to her" Lucas smiled nervously

"How do you even know Hanna is going to this party?" Alton asked

"It's a party, Hanna is going to be there. Something about this night screams epic, like it is the night to reveal" Lucas explained

"Yeah, and my birthday is always the day that my parents explain that condoms are important, that and nine months prior to my birthday for some odd reason" Alton told him

"Somehow I don't think its odd they mention safe sex on those specific dates" Lucas said as it all began to make sense why his parents preached those messages to him

"This is huge. This is very huge. I have one question for you though?" Alton asked

"What?" Lucas asked prepared to answer anything

"Have you shaved your balls?" Alton asked as Lucas shook his head as he walked away confused on what his private parts had to do with anything he was saying and like usual Alton followed behind "The itch and scratch is no joke my friend, I want you to enjoy it" he exclaimed

With much thanks to her resources, Hanna had finally narrowed down the venue in which A would do her big reveal, instantly reporting the news to both Spencer and Aria, Hanna had hoped to get ahold of Emily but like A had scripted for the evening, the guest of honor was truly in for a rude awakening. Not wanting to reveal too much to the other two girls, Hanna had made it a point for whomever arrived first at the party to find Emily at all costs, but deep down she had hoped that this was one party Emily had hoped to sit out on. Able to spot Mona as soon as she made her way inside, Hanna walked over and made nice to the entourage of people hoping to get insight on what was planned for the evening by some random mention as she scanned the crowd of people. For what felt like an eternity, Hanna eyes darted from every corner of her eye socket, constantly checking the crowd for Emily's stature while constantly checking her phone to see if Aria or Spencer would call.

Sipping on his beer, Alton did his best to look the part of popular, but even the best of acting could have put him amongst the popular. Checking the door for her to walk in, Lucas found himself waiting anxiously like a kid on Christmas Day waiting to open his presents so he could finally play with them. He wanted to drink a beer, but he knew that alcohol probably wouldn't be the best thing for him, so he would have to duke it out with his emotions and see who takes the grand prize. Getting up to pace the small area that they were in, Lucas accidentally bumped into someone. Nervous that he was about to get pummeled for bumping into some jocks girlfriend or just bumping into a cheerleader, he instantly began to apologize before she turned around to look at him.

"I'm so sorry. I'm just…I'm so sorry" Lucas apologized to the girl repeatedly as all she did was smile

"Its okay, this place is pretty small" The girl laughed "You look familiar, do you know Hanna?" she asked

"I think everyone knows her" Lucas laughed nervously

"Yeah, she's pretty well known. I'm Emily, her friend" Emily introduced herself

"Nice to meet you" Lucas smiled as he extended his hand towards her before she shook his hand

"I think Hanna should be here pretty soon, but I don't really know too many of the people here" Emily told him

"Welcome to the club, but I'm sure you still know more people than I do" Lucas said

After searching throughout the party, Hanna, Aria, and Spencer all met up by the staircase both exchanging looks of hopelessness. Desperately hoping that Emily would appear, Hanna didn't give up scanning the crowd. Just as she turned to look at Aria and Spencer, Mona had walked up to them clearly drunk out of her mind as all she could do was cling on to Hanna. With everything going on the last thing Hanna needed was a drunk Mona on her hands as well, but she knew when Mona got like this, the only person she felt comfortable in monitoring Mona was herself.

"What are we going to do?" Aria mouthed to Hanna

"I don't know" Hanna replied

"Have you tried her cell phone again?" Spencer asked

"Its not on" Aria replied just as the DJ stopped the music

"Hey! We want music" Mona shouted drunkenly "Music. Music. Music. Music" she began to chant just as the crowd began to boo

"Sorry people but I have an important message that was delivered by the host of the party. Let's give it up for A" The DJ said as the round of cheers came from every angle of the room as Aria, Spencer, and Hanna all looked at each other

"Okay, this is getting freakier by the moment" Aria said shaking her head in disbelief

"Hanna, what is this all about?" Spencer asked Hanna who was trying to hold up Mona while searching for Emily at the same time

"So tonight we're here to celebrate a very special coming out party for someone special" The DJ said as Hanna, Spencer, and Aria just stood there waiting for the ground to slip out from underneath them. Looking slightly over to the other side of the room, Hanna quickly saw Emily emerge from the crowd and before she could even move the DJ played the Diana Ross classic, I'm Coming Out "Emily, glad you found love with Maya, hope you enjoy the gathering, A" he read as the crowd had different reactions to the reading. Some laughed while others couldn't help but turn to stare at Emily as if she was declared the town freak, and with the look of horror that was plastered all over her face, it was enough clarification to know that this was true.

It all began to feel like the world was slowly but surely slipping away from her reality and turning into the nightmare she knew would happen. The looks, the whispers rang clearly towards her as she began to breath heavily in hopes that she would find the strength to fight back but it was nowhere to be found. Stepping up beside her, Lucas slowly grabbed a hold of her hand, and for that mere second Emily was drawn back in, like some bit of power came to her. Slowly leading her out the room, Lucas could feel the tension within her just from holding her hand, and he could only imagine what was racing through her mind at this point as every person they passed seemed to make it evident what they felt about Emily in someway or another whether through laughter or through whispers. Finally outside, Lucas tried to calm Emily down as she slowly slipped into a trance like state, just as Hanna, Spencer, and Aria came running outside to where they were with a staggering Mona following behind.

"Emily, are you okay?" Spencer asked and in that second Emily looked at her friends defeated before collapsing to the floor in tears

It was well into the morning, when Hanna had finally made her way home after pulling a double shift between Emily and Mona. The sight of her house looked more and more appealing than she had let on because all she wanted to do was curl up in a ball, and escape whatever torture A had planned for her. Deep down she knew that Mona didn't deserve her attention, but this new part of her felt like doing good onto others would pay off in the end, and at this point she needed as many nice points as she could handle. Coming up to her house, she wanted to go inside but she found herself walking across the way towards Lucas's house. Just as she was about to pick up a rock to throw at his window, Lucas had come out in a dash as if he were getting ready to go somewhere but was surprised to see Hanna in his driveway.

"I was just going to see how you were" Lucas told her as he walked over towards where she was underneath the shade of the tree

"Sorry I didn't call, between Mona and Emily. It was insane" Hanna explained before Lucas cut her off

"I don't need an explanation. How are they?" Lucas asked

"Emily is a mess, I mean she literally cried her eyes out. Mona, well she's hungover, but Em's pain won't fade like Mona's will. Is it wrong to think someone is pathtic as your taking care of them?" Hanna asked

"You had a drunk friend and you had a friend who got outted a party, its only fair to question who needs you most" Lucas said

"Thank you for last night, for helping Emily out" Hanna said "You always seem to be there when I need it the most" she said looking him dead in the eyes

"Hey, I know what its like, I know what it's like to be the butt of everyone's jokes or whispers, it sucks, it sucks big time" Lucas said sadly

"You're a good person, you know that, right?" Hanna told him

"I try to be" Lucas shrugged

"I don't think you have to try, you just are" Hanna said "Which makes me question why you gave up the school? Why would you miss and opportunity like that to stay here?" she asked

"I don't know, I guess I'm not ready to leave just yet" Lucas said

"Great, now I feel bad for making you miss your meeting. I should have just sucked it up and stayed at the train station until my mom got off" Hanna said

"I don't regret my decision, and you clearly needed help that night. Plus there was a strong reason why I stayed, and I couldn't ignore it anymore" Lucas said

"True" Hanna smiled "I hope that the reason you stayed appreciates it. I'm very lucky to have a friend like you" she said before she leaned in to kiss him on the cheek as he seemed defeated by the word friend being mentioned

"Hanna, I have something to tell…" Lucas said softly before Hanna cut him off

"Oh, God. I smell horrible" Hanna said getting a whiff of herself "I'm going to take a shower before I repulse you. I'll see you later" she smiled before she turned to leave and walk back over to her house

"I stayed for you" Lucas said to himself as he looked on the girl of his dreams walk away


	6. Teenage Angst

Chapter Six- Teenage Angst

His alarm clock blared loudly within his ear as he face lay planted in his pillow, slowly looking over at his clock he instantly began to realize that he was late for school. Jumping out of bed nearly falling to the ground from being tangled up in the bed sheets, Lucas clawed his way out of cotton embrace. Running around his room like a mad man in his boxer shorts searching for the essentials that made up his geek chic wardrobe. Throwing on a shirt on his way out of his room, he quickly ran down the staircase completely ignoring his mother's spiritual groups session of how drunk can you get before ten o'clock. By the time he pulled into the parking lot he parked his car in the first parking space he could find before he made a made mad dash into the school. Celebrating the fact that he was just in time for second period, he was torn from his celebration by the final bell and the sea of students coming into the hallway where he stood. Lowering his head in defeat, Lucas walked over to his locker and reluctantly opened it to throw his book bag inside. Slamming the door shut, Lucas was surprised to Reese Horrorwitz standing on the other side, Reese always had knack of showing up at any time throughout the school year, it was rumored that she would study abroad and would return home to keep some since of normalcy about her life, besides that she was the closest thing to a genius Lucas had ever met. Reese always relished on the fact that she was smart, but that Spencer was her main nemesis, she'd be halfway decent if she didn't obsess so much over Spencer.

"Your back, this is a surprise" Lucas smiled as he hugged her

"Don't be so surprised, I always come back. This year is important to me" Reese smiled happily

"I would love to say because you want to experience the fun filled years of high school but you look like you have a master plan of overpowering Spencer once and for all thing going on" Lucas read her

"No, this year, I have come back a whole new person" Reese replied as Lucas looked at her quizzically "And because my therapist says that if I obsess over her then it makes it harder for me to concentrate on the important things" she revealed

"You need a therapist to tell you that, I could have told you that" Lucas said

"Well it sounds better coming from a person with a degree, and seeing as you turned down Winthrop, taking your advice would be stupid" Reese said making sure to let him know that she was fully aware of his decision "We'll discuss that for a later time" she said patting him on the shoulder

"I'm sure we will" Lucas laughed "Its good to have you back" he said as they began to walk off to class together.

Standing around Spencer's locker, Hanna quickly spotted Lucas walking down the hallway, laughing and talking to a blonde hair girl. She wanted the option to look away but her eyes wouldn't allow her to with the need to know why the girl looked so familiar to her. Torn from her yearbook recollection search, Hanna turned her attention to Aria and Spencer realizing even more so that Emily wasn't here and was probably staring out her bedroom window. Luckily for the sake of Emily, Hanna had stomached the thought of being around Aria, not for one second did she want to give Aria the idea that all was okay because even if she tried a part of her couldn't seem to just forgive Aria like she wanted to. Deep down she knew that Sean wasn't the one, even thought she wanted him to be, and sex maybe would have helped the relationship, but in all fairness it wasn't going to be the reason why she would remember and say at that moment I knew we belonged together type of thing, if anything it sped up the inevitable.

"Have you talked to Emily?" Spencer asked

"I went by there this morning. She barely said much but she's doing better" Hanna said

"That's an improvement from two weekends ago. If only we could get a lead on A now" Aria said

"A hosted the party but no one knew of this A or anything. I talked to the DJ and he said he just showed up at the house because he was paid full through mail" Hanna said

"So I'm guessing we were just at some random persons house as well?" Spencer asked

"It was an old fix up house that was put on the market but never sold" Aria said

"We sound like quite the detectives, too bad we can't catch the person who's causing all this fuss" Hanna said

"Which makes me wonder, when she plans to leave Emily and go for one of us?" Spencer asked

"Well she revealed Aria's loose lips, so I'm sure there's more going on there" Hanna replied looking Aria dead in the eyes angrily

"How many times do I have to say sorry?" Aria asked

"Gee, I don't know, maybe when I actually believe your sorry" Hanna said "Sean still seems infatuated with you so your probably just loving that seeing as your other suitor has skipped town" she said as Aria tensed up in hopes that Hanna wouldn't spill her secret

"I'm not into Sean. The kiss was a mistake that just happened" Aria said

"Save it Aria, I'm not buying it" Hanna replied quickly

"Tell me if anything new happens, I'm going to class" Aria sighed before she walked off down the hall

"She's really sorry, you know" Spencer told Hanna

"I don't care. She had no right to place her lips on my boyfriend" Hanna said

"Your ex-boyfriend" Spencer pointed out

"Whomever! What is mine doesn't just magically become hers" Hanna said

"What? Not having Sean as your King ruins the Queen Bee image?" Spencer asked

"Sean is replaceable, and the Queen is missing a King. I'm happening to notice a few possible replacements" Hanna laughed

"Who?" Spencer asked "That Lucas guy?" she asked

"No. Lucas and I are friends" Hanna said "I'm talking about Michael, he's asked me out a few times since the break up with Sean and everything that's been going on with A, I don't think my dating has been a priority" she said

"Oh, well, Michael is pretty cute" Spencer commented just as the very Michael they were speaking of came walking down the hallway towards the two "And look who's here" she said smiling at Hanna before she conveniently walked away so they could be alone

"Hey Hanna" Michael greeted her

"Hey" Hanna smiled

"So I was on my way to class, do you want to walk together?" Michael asked her

"Sure" Hanna said as he extended his hand towards her as she happily grabbed his hand before the walked hand in hand down the hallway.

Meanwhile, in class, Lucas sat at his desk preparing for today's lesson that was sure to be riveted moments in which he could catch up on much needed sleep, when he saw Hanna come up to the door. Turning his attention over to the door because all things Hanna had seemed to be his interest, when he realized she was outside with Michael Vance, the school's star baseball player. It had been rumored that the major leagues were after him, and that regardless if he graduated or not that he would be set for life because he all ready had deals waiting for him. Giggles from Mona and her friends over in the corner signified that this was a new couple emerging in front everyone very own eyes as Michael pulled Hanna into a hug. The two stood in a embrace for about twenty seven seconds Lucas counted in his head before she finally came inside to take her seat. Flashing a school girl smile towards Mona, Hanna took her seat next to her as the girls immediately went into gossiping about the athlete.

"I don't get the point to them, what is so funny that requires that many giggles" Reese commented

"Shut up! Your just jealous that our conversations aren't nearly that interesting" Alton laughed

"Yes, conversation, not giggles in substitute for words" Reese replied

"I liked you better when you were halfway across the world, how about we get back to that" Alton said

"You wish" Reese said

"Exactly, now please grant it" Alton said as Reese and him continued to banter exchanging barbs at each other while Lucas just looked on defeated by the events that taken place all in a matter of minutes that caused serious doubts to come rushing back. Quickly grabbing his stuff, Lucas got up and made his way through the aisle to leave the classroom leaving his friends shocked by his actions

Nearly running over to his friends house in complete concern about his friend, Alton was finally relieved to have finally made it to Lucas's house. Taking a deep breath as he hunched over, preparing himself to climb up the grapevine on the side of the house that lead up to his room, Alton found a gust of strength before grabbing onto the grapevine and began to lead. Beginning to struggle on his climb up, Lucas came out of his house to find his friend caught up in the grapevine, almost about to fall to the ground. Looking on in shame, Lucas guided his friend down with giving him directions on how to get down before Alton became a permanent fixture in the concrete below him. Once he was finally off the grapevine, the two went inside the garage to grab the lawn chairs to sit out in the driveway with, while Lucas went back to grab his remote control car to play with. Noticing the choice toy, Alton knew his friend was upset because he only pulled that out when he was trying to think about something or when he was upset about something and detecting from how he just left school, when he was barely there to begin with only meant he was upset about something.

"What's going on?" Alton asked

"Nothing, we're sunbathing" Lucas said dryly as he focused on playing with his car

"Yeah, I know that, but your clearly upset about something" Alton said

"I'm really not. I feel like a dumbass, but that's a usual feeling" Lucas replied

"Why do you feel like a dumbass? Your freakishly smart" Alton said "Is it because Reese is back? She tends to have that effect on people, I mean you think you have a wide range of possibilities of girls you could hook up and then here she comes reminding you that she's the one you'll most likely end up with" he said in horror of the image

"Yeah, that's why I'm upset" Lucas said sarcastically just as Hanna walked up towards them after Mona had dropped her off at her house

"Hey guys" Hanna smiled

"Hi, Hanna Marin" Alton smiled smittened with the blonde

"Hey, Lucas. I noticed that you left early during class, so I brought you your homework" Hanna said as she looked through her purse to hand him the folded up assignment sheet

"Thank you" Lucas replied as he took the paper from her and looked on at what was assigned

"Oh, school was great today!" Reese said happily as she walked up quickly towards where Lucas and Alton were

"Only a nerd would say that" Alton commented

"Newflash, you're a nerd" Reese replied "Not a smart one I might add" she told him

"Your group seems to be getting bigger" Hanna smiled at Lucas

"Yeah, we do. Hanna this is Reese. Reese this is Hanna" Lucas introduced the girls

"Your Spencer's friend?" Reese asked

"Let it go Reese" Lucas said commenting on her Spencer obsession

"I was just asking a simple question" Reese replied

"Yeah, we're friends. Well, I'll see you around, maybe another round of Wii sometime?" Hanna asked

"Anytime, why not tonight?" Lucas asked hoping to get confirmation on rumors that he had recently learned of

"Oh, I can't tonight, I have plans" Hanna said

"Oh, plans with Michael?" Lucas asked

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Hanna asked

"Your Hanna Marin, a rumor isn't a rumor if it doesn't have you in it" Lucas smiled weakly trying to pretend like this conversation wasn't like a dagger in his heart

"Oh, well, he's taking me out to the diner" Hanna said

"I love that place" Alton said trying to jump in the conversation but only made it more awkward with him in it

"Good food. I'll see you around Lucas. Nice to meet you Reese" Hanna smiled before she turned to walk back to her house as Lucas, Alton, and Reese all watched her walk away

"I love her ass" Alton said lost in a trance of Hanna Marin

"Alton, does your parents still have that alcohol cabinet?" Lucas asked not tearing his glance away from Hanna

"Yeah, they stock it everyday with stuff. But they never manage to give me lunch money" Alton said

"Having you as a child, I'd stock it every hour" Reese laughed to herself "Why do ask Lucas?" she asked him

"Because I need a drink or two" Lucas said getting up from his lawn chair as he lead the remote control car back into the garage

"All right, a drinking party tonight" Alton smiled happily

"You two are pathtic" Reese said "I'm going home to study" she said turning to leave

"Bye" Lucas called out to her

"And we're pathtic" Alton said to himself as he got up from his lawn chair

Michael Vance, he was practically a sex symbol on a stick was all Hanna could think as she looked at him while he spoke about another countless baseball story that him being the hero in the end. He was probably an amazing kisser, she thought to herself as she began to focus in on his lips, since they were moving heavily. Shaking her head from her indecent thoughts, Hanna looked on at Mona, who seemed to be thrilled that she was once again taking her popularity seriously and wasn't planning to do a nosedive anytime soon. Returning her focus back to Michael, who no surprise, was still talking about himself, how could he be so damn cute, and be so self absorbed at the same time. Taking a fry, she began to play with the puddle of ketchup on her plate, trying to find some bit of entertainment on this date. Lost in the ketchup swirls, Hanna was quickly torn away from her excitement once Lucas stumbled into the diner with Alton cautiously following behind him. From where she sat, Lucas looked a little different than she had seen him before, he could barely even walk and was laughing like an idiot over the dumbest of things that ranged from the funny looking ketchup bottles. Mona squirmed when Lucas came near her while Alton tried to guide him to a table and apologize at the same time for his friends behavior. When Lucas's eyes landed on Hanna, he quickly made his way over towards her before Michael got up to block his view of her.

"Oh, my God. Hanna. Look Alton, its Hanna" Lucas said happily jumping up and down bringing attention to himself even moreso if he all ready hadn't

"Is he drunk?" Hanna asked getting up from where she sat

"No. No. No. No. N. O" Lucas laughed "Am I?" he turned to ask Alton

"Yes" Alton replied

"I thought he was going to play Wii tonight?" Hanna asked

"Clearly he reached for something else" Michael said

"He wanted to come here, and I wanted to get him coffee so he could try to sleep it off" Alton said "We were sipping before he chugged a whole bottle by himself" he said

"He's pretty faded" Michael observed Lucas

"Faded" Lucas laughed "What does that even mean. Hanna you look great tonight, doesn't she look great?" he asked Michael "Pretty people belong together, and Michael your pretty…pretty….pretty stupid" he laughed

"What?" Michael said confused

"I said stupid, it wasn't rocket science" Lucas said as Hanna couldn't help but get a little smirk out of it

"I think we'll be going to our seat now" Alton said trying to usher Lucas off but he wouldn't move

"Hanna, Hanna" Lucas said managing to get past Michael to stand in front of her so that he was looking her dead in the eyes "What are you doing? I mean seriously, Michael Vance. Sure he's a looker, and probably buy you the mansion with his baseball prowess, but your like cookie dough" he said as she looked confused

"Cookie dough?" Hanna said

"Oh, boy. This is going to be interesting" Alton said shaking his head in shame for his friend

"Yeah, cookie dough" Lucas smiled "Everyone loves the cookie after its baked but they never enjoy the dough because they're so focused on the finished product. You, you're the dough because you're the best part of the cookie, and your actually better than the cookie. Michael is a cookie, and so is Moma, there all cookies" he explained in his drunk logic

"Did he just call Mona, Moma?" Michael asked

"Lucas, I really think you should go home, and have a big cup of coffee" Hanna said brushing the hair away from his face as he breathed heavily trying to figure out what he could do to prove to her

"Yeah, buddy. Lets get coffee" Alton said to trying to usher his friend out

"I need, I need to do something before I go. I have to" Lucas said before he quickly Hanna into a kiss. Caught off guard by the kiss, Hanna tried to fight it but the overwhelming spark that she felt from the first time they kissed at the party seemed to takeover, and in that instant she let him dominate the kiss. Surprised that Lucas even went for it, Alton figured he should at least let him enjoy the kiss by grabbing onto Michael, who looked like he was ready to pounce on Lucas for touching Hanna "There, I'm ready to go" he said breaking the kiss as he turned back towards Alton

"Hanna, what the hell!" Mona said running up towards them before Lucas quickly hunched over to throw up on her "Oh my God!" she screamed as Hanna rushed over to Lucas and Alton

"Michael, we should just call it a night" Hanna told Michael

"But we were having such a good time, that is until loser here showed up" Michael complained

"Yeah, well this loser is my neighbor and a friend, so we'll just have to rain check this date" Hanna said grabbing napkins to wipe Lucas's face trying to stop him from feeling groggy

"Puke boy just threw up on me and your about to leave with him?" Mona asked Hanna angrily

"Do you want him to still puke on you or do you want me to take care of it?" Hanna asked "There just shoes, you'll be fine. Alton, get the car" she instructed him before

"Are you sure you can hold him up?" Alton asked

"Your right" Hanna said letting him go not realizing no one was holding him so he fell to the floor "Oh, crap" she said as Alton and her pulled him back up

"I'll carry him, you get the car" Alton said handing Hanna the car keys before Mona just stormed off

"I'm sorry" Hanna mouthed to Michael

"Whatever" Michael said as he walked off towards a group of his friends

"You've got some explaining to do" Hanna told Alton before she went outside to the car

His head began to pound, feeling like someone just kept swinging away at his head like it was a pinata, his eyes began to flutter open as he looked around the room to see that it wasn't his room that he was in, nor was it his bed. Looking over beside him, he quickly recognized that she was laying beside him still asleep. Grabbing on tight to the pillow he began to freak out slowly trying to make sense of how he ended up in bed of all places, a quick thought came to his head that maybe she had devirginized him last night but he could still feel his clothes on so that couldn't be it. Hanna began to wake up as she sat up in her bed to see that Lucas looked like a deer in headlights. Reaching over to her bedside table, she grabbed the bottle of water and handed it to him as he sat up in the bed. Running his fingers through his hair, he continued to play with his hair just running through what happened last night.

"I bet you feel like crap" Hanna said observing his behavior

"Yes, that pretty much sums me up at this point" Lucas said

"As you should. You were drunk off your ass last night" Hanna said

"That makes better sense" Lucas shook his head in agreement with her statement that she had made "And how did I end up back here?" he asked

"Because Alton and I carried you over here because your parents were in the living room watching television, and we didn't know how they would react to a drunken son" Hanna said

"Good decision. I don't practice drinking regularly" Lucas said

"Yeah, well you picked a great night to start. Michael wanted to punch you for calling him stupid" Hanna laughed as Lucas's eyes bulged out of his head

"Great now I'm going to pounced on at school" Lucas sighed

"Then there was the whole cookie dough analogy" Hanna laughed as Lucas just turned to look at her

"What analogy?" Lucas asked

"You asked me why I was with Michael, and said I was cookie dough, I was better than the cookie" Hanna said

"Oh, kill me now" Lucas shrieked in embarrassment

"Stop worrying, your fine. I happen to like what you said, it was nice" Hanna smiled

"Really? Comparing you to a desert is nice?" Lucas asked

"At first no, but when you explained why, it was drunk and crazy, but it was really sweet" Hanna said "I've never been compared to cookie dough, so it made it interesting" she laughed

"I think anyone that's compared to food should be offended, and I'm surprised your not mad at me" Lucas said

"After everything you've done for me, I couldn't be" Hanna said "And maybe your right, maybe guys like Michael aren't the ones for me, I mean look how Sean and I ended up" she said

"But you can't help who you like" Lucas said

"No, you can't, but you shouldn't date someone for status, and I feel like that's what Michael was about. Sean, I liked him for the longest so it was just so surreal when we got together, but now that's over. If anything I want that real deal kind of relationship, the one where its written all over your face why your with each other, and you grow together. Like the movies" Hanna said

"The movies fabricate those love stories" Lucas shrugged "You know in your heart what speaks to you" he said

"Yeah, and I think I need to start letting mine have a voice" Hanna smiled

"Was there anything else embarrassing that I need to know about so I know who to avoid at school?" Lucas asked her as Hanna began to flashback to Lucas pulling her into a kiss that seemed to be on her mind ever since it happened

"No. Nothing else happened. Your good" Hanna smiled at him before she got up from her bed "I don't have Wii, but I have cartoons" she said grabbing the remote control before she made her way back to the bed

"I like cartoons" Lucas replied nonchalantly

"Good" Hanna laughed as she climbed back in the bed next to him as she flicked the tv on. The two laughed at the cartoons in enjoyment of the moment, looking over at Hanna, who seemed to be like a kid at the candy store as she looked on happily. Turning his attention back to the screen, Hanna rested her head on his shoulder causing him to smile at the chance that her heart would voice that maybe he could be the one for her.


	7. The It Factor

**AUTHORS NOTE: Sorry this one is long. Loved last nights episode of Pretty Little Liars, so I guess I got inspired from it. Thanks for all the reviews, and I hope you keep writing them. Hope you like it**

Chapter Seven- The It Factor

Sitting at his desk, Lucas read through countless articles in hopes of finding some bit of material that would help with his biology paper, since turning down Winthrop, he had put more focus into his schoolwork so that he'd at least have a shot to get into a pretty decent university, and it made it even harder with him coming straight out of high school instead of a prestigious institution like Winthrop. Growing tired of scanning the black print, Lucas gave up to catch some bit of sanity. Throwing his pencil on to his book, Lucas quickly began to massage his head and tried to think of something that would at least cause him to focus more on the task at hand, just as he began his thinking process, Reese walked into the room and quickly closed the door behind her before grabbing a seat next to Lucas. At first Lucas didn't pay Reese any attention because he was positive that she would break the silence anyways and say something to the effect of Spencer Hastings is such and such like usual. Never in his life did he meet someone so obsessed with winning, but in some ways he admired that about Reese because she wasn't ashamed of herself in no shape or form, she knew who she was and she was proud of that. It began to worry him when the moments of silence continued because she would usually have said something by now.

"Hello" Lucas said awkwardly "You look peeved about something? What did Spencer do now?" he asked

"This has nothing to do with Spencer Hastings" Reese replied

"Okay, then why do you look so serious. Your usually serious when it comes to school and all things school include Spencer" Lucas said before Reese cut him off

"Forget Spencer for a second or a minute. This is serious, this has to do with us" Reese declared

"What do you mean us?" Lucas asked

"Lucas, have you even checked what today is?" Reese asked

"Today is Wednesday. May 3, 2010. Why is today important?" Lucas laughed

"Do I have to spell everything out? Lucas do you remember freshmen year, and what we talked about on this very day?" Reese asked

"Reese, c'mon just spill it, I'm dying here" Lucas laughed before Reese reached in his bag to pull out his calendar that was in his sketch pad that he had in a secret pouch of his bag that only Alton and her knew about. Flipping the calendar open she showed him the exact date "Oh, crap!" he exclaimed

"Exactly. We're suppose to have sex on May 5" Reese told him as he turned to look at her

**-MAY 5, 2008 FRESHMEN YEAR-**

_They sat in his room on his bed bored as usual that everything that they had planned to do either burned out quickly or wasn't as entertaining as they thought. Flipping through the television channels, Alton did his best to entertain himself with mind numbing game shows but having Reese around ruined that for him for some odd reason. Usually when Lucas and him would watch game shows they would talk about which woman they would like to bang, it was new for them to talk about stuff like that since they usually didn't like to talk about women as objects, well for Lucas anyways, Alton found a sense of piece expressing what his loins wanted and since there was no special girl in his life, television would have to do. Looking down at her feet, Reese recited every state by alphabetical order and the capitol of the state along with it, she had to stay fresh when it came to trying to beat Spencer Hastings. Unable to take the huge amount of boredom that swept through the room, Alton quickly got up from his seat on the bed._

"_Okay, I'm going home. This is boring as hell" Alton declared_

"_What? This is what you wanted to do" Lucas said_

"_No, I was hoping that we would go sneak into the diner and hang out with other kids our age from our school" Alton said_

"_That's crazy, that would mean you actually fit in with kids from our school" Reese laughed_

"_Not helping" Alton told Reese "Lucas, with Alison gone, this could be our opportunity to realign the planets and make ourselves popular but instead we're stuck in your bedroom looking at game shows" he complained_

"_We always watch game shows" Lucas said_

"_Yeah, but we also do other things during game shows that we can't do with her here" Alton said_

"_You guys are gross" Reese said disgusted with what they could be referring to_

"_See. Uncomfortable" Alton declared "I'll see you at school tomorrow" he said before he left the room and eventually left the house_

"_You know your really mean to him" Lucas told Reese_

"_Because he's so obscene about everything. Alton scream pervert" Reese said_

"_Then why are you friends with him?" Lucas asked_

"_Because he grows on you like a mole, you can whack at it all you want but it'll only grow back" Reese said_

"_That's analogy I didn't need" Lucas laughed_

"_So what do you want to do?" Reese asked_

"_Oh, your not going to leave. I assumed that you were bored as well" Lucas said_

"_No, I'm doing okay. Do you want me to leave?" Reese asked_

"_I'm fine with whatever because tomorrow I'm almost sure that we'll be doing the same thing" Lucas said_

"_What would teens like us be doing right now anyways? What is so special about doing something?" Reese laughed _

"_Well like Alton pointed out, they're at the diner, so that's something" Lucas laughed "But gender wise, I think we both know" he said_

"_What would they be doing? Gender wise?" Reese asked_

"_C'mon. Your not dumb Reese" Lucas said_

"_What, you mean sex?" Reese asked_

"_Yeah, I mean teens now have sex before they even get into high school and get pregnant before senior year" Lucas said_

"_When you think about it, sex really isn't that big of a deal like we make it out to be" Reese said_

"_This from a virgin" Lucas said_

"_Look who's throwing stones, virgin" Reese said "I just think if the attraction or want is there then you should act upon it. Its like an itch, if it itches, scratch it" she said_

"_So if you had an itch, you'd just scratch, no thought included?" Lucas asked_

"_No, thought. Take the emotion out of it" Reese said_

"_Your strange" Lucas said_

"_I just don't want to worry about it, I want it to be over with. I want the pressure to be gone" Reese sighed _

"_So then do something about it. You want it to be gone than make it go away" Lucas said challengingly _

"_Don't start something you can't finish Luke" Reese smiled at him_

"_I just think there's more to what your saying than your letting on" Lucas said as the two just looked at each other. For a moment the silence weighed heavily in the room, before Reese quickly leaned in and kissed Lucas wildly. The kiss was wildly spontaneous but neither was really interested in ending it or at least on Reese's part. Straddling him, Reese gained the upper hand as all Lucas could do was roam her backside with his hands trying to figure out how they got like this after many times of being alone in his room without kissing ever happening. Laying back on the bed, Reese feverishly attacked his lips as if the contained some sort of cure. "What are we doing?" he asked breaking the kiss as they both took the separation to catch their breaths_

"_We're getting rid of it" Reese said as she pulled him into another kiss_

"_Yeah, but are we sure?" Lucas asked in between kisses_

"_Yeah" Reese said kissing him again "Do you have a….a you know" she asked him breaking the kiss suddenly_

"_Uh, yeah….Alton and I were making water balloons and we ran out of balloons so we used my dad's, that's too much information isn't it?" Lucas asked_

"_Yes" Reese replied as Lucas used his hand to try to feel his way around his bedside table to grab the condom that was in there. Finally finding what he wanted, Lucas showed the condom to her "This good" he asked_

"_Works for me" Reese said before she went back to kissing him_

"_Oh, wait. We poked holes in them, we wanted to have spritzing effect because it was hot and we don't like a lot of water pressure on our faces" Lucas explained as Reese quickly got off of Lucas "What's wrong?" he asked her sitting up on his elbows as she took a seat at his desk_

"_Your talking about Alton as we're trying to have sex" Reese said_

"_Yeah, so we could potentially avoid having some love child" Lucas said_

"_Or because you don't want to do this and your thinking of any possible reason to get out of this" Reese glared_

"_No. You were the one who kissed me" Lucas said_

"_Lucas, your not ready and in some ways I'm not because hearing about Alton just completely ruined and cured my itch" Reese said squirming at the name of Alton_

"_So what was this an experimental run or something. If we could, together?" Lucas asked_

"_Maybe" Reese smiled "At least I know that if I want to get it over with, I can with you" she said_

"_Yeah, its comforting to know that, at least I mean with you" Lucas smiled_

"_How about in two years from now before senior year of course, we make a guarantee to finally do the deed and be done with it all together" Reese said_

"_So just get the monkey off our back" Lucas smiled "What if we don't want to two years from now or we either lose it by then?" he asked_

"_I doubt we will since we're the crème of the crop when it comes to nerds Ville, but we have to go through with it. The only stipulation is either we're in a relationship or we found "it"" Reese said_

"_What is it?" Lucas asked_

"_You'll know when you find it, but if none of those apply then we in this room do the deed" Reese said "Or wherever suitable to go through with the sexual activities" she said_

"_Okay, it's a deal" Lucas smiled_

"_A deal. You should probably write this down in your sketch pad calendar so you don't forget" Reese told him_

**- MAY 3, 2010 JUNIOR YEAR-**

* * *

Lucas looked on at his own handwrite that only made it real that the agreement was legit between them, and remembering the stipulations that would allow him to back out, he knew that he had to own up to his end of the bargain. Trying to grasp the idea that he was soon about to lose his very virtue that he always thought would be there due to his social standings, Reese remained calm or at least she played it perfectly in his eyes. Pulling out a list, Reese handed it to Lucas as he began to read over what she could possibly be giving him.

"What is this?" Lucas asked

"A list of things we'll need to do the deed" Reese said "We should be prepared" she said

"Yeah, your right. I mean that's what stopped us before" Lucas smiled weakly

"So will your place be okay?" Reese asked

"Yeah, my parents are actually going out of town tonight and won't be back until Sunday night" Lucas told her "It seems like the Gods want us to have sex all ready, too. So yay for that" he said nervously

"Okay, well I guess the activities begin at seven. I have a French lesson at five and I need to do some homework after" Reese said "So until then" she said before she got up to leave

"Okay, this is weird" Lucas sighed just as Alton made his way into the room

"Hey, what's up?" Alton asked his friend

"Close the door behind you, I have to tell you something" Lucas told him as Alton did as he was told and within a matter of minutes all you could hear from the room was a loud scream of disgust

* * *

They each sat at the table sipping on their coffee's as they had ended the usual discussion of all things that involved A, which had been all consuming in their lives. Hanna hadn't made as much as eye contact with Aria once A was no longer a topic of discussion, and at times Aria was fine with it but lately it had become a little much for her to handle so she just ended up leaving to go do something with her mom. Spencer and Emily knew that bringing up the drama between the two was useless and they would have to work this out on their own, Hanna could only last so long, and by the looks of things she seemed to be waning down on the grudge she had against Aria. They had all come a long way with each other since not speaking after Alison's disappearance and now death, somehow it just seemed they would find their way back to each other since A kept them all together, which was strange at times. On occasion as the girls sat there, Hanna would get a couple looks thrown her way from a couple of guys but it didn't seem to phase her like it usually would, it was if her boy magnet had gone down as well.

"Did you get a hold of your mom?" Emily asked Hanna as she closed her phone

"No. I just text Lucas to pick me up. He'll be here in a few" Hanna said as the guy in the corner of the room winked at Hanna causing Spencer and Emily to laugh at the ridiculous amount of attention Hanna was getting since her break up with Sean

"Okay that's like the fifth guy that has thrown you a look. What's with you?" Emily asked

"Who? Henry? I see him as a friend more than anything" Hanna explained

"You have some good looking friends then" Spencer laughed

"Or could it happen to be because of a certain dark haired neighbor" Emily teased

"How would you like to take another fall?" Hanna asked Emily

"I'm just saying. You've been free for quite some time and you haven't made a single move to change that status since Sean" Emily said

"Because it was Sean, you guys know what he meant to me. That's completely different than just picking up and starting a relationship with someone" Hanna said

"Yes, he was your crush growing up, but things change and so have you. You should be dating and playing the field" Spencer said

"That sounded like something my mom would say" Hanna laughed

"I happen to believe there is truth behind that" Spencer said "Besides why don't you and Lucas give it a try?" she asked

"Because its Lucas" Hanna said

"Why? Because he's not popular?" Spencer asked

"No, I'm not that shallow. I just think we're friends" Hanna said "I can talk to him and be myself around him, but I don't know" she said

"I thought that's what you'd want in a relationship. I mean Ben was great at first but it wasn't there anymore between us, and then I started to feel myself around Maya" Emily said

"But I don't want to cross that line. I don't want to lose him as a friend because that these days are hard to find" Hanna said

"Well then you'll never find that connection with anyone if you don't at least try" Spencer said

"Michael was a start. A horrible start, but it was a start" Hanna said

"Then keep trying until it fits" Emily smiled

* * *

The car ride was unusually awkward, which was weird since Alton was in the car with them. Hanna hadn't known Alton that long, but she knew that he was always babbling on about something that had to do with pop culture, it became entertaining to hear what random topic he would mention, but today Lucas was acting strange. Lucas solely focused on the road, and hadn't really even did his routine glances over at Hanna that she so happened to notice on occasion, it was cute, she liked it. Pulling into an empty driveway, Hanna had remembered that his parents were out of town, which made her fear what stupid plan Alton was going to drag him into after the whole getting drunk debacle had him ending up at her house. Locking the door, Hanna wasn't allowing him to escape without telling her what was going on, she needed to know what scheme they were up to. Alton pretended like he was claustrophobic so he could get out, but Hanna hadn't bought it not for one second.

"Either one of you can start talking. Something is up and I want to know" Hanna said "Lucas. Alton" she said

"Don't say anything" Lucas said to Alton

"Okay, so there is something. Spill it Alton" Hanna said quickly turning attention to Alton

"Dude, c'mon. I don't do good with pressure" Alton squirmed

"Just tell me. You act like I'm going to be mad or something" Hanna said

"I just don't think you'd like to know" Lucas said "It's stupid" he said

"Alton, if you talk I'll purposely lock you in the cheerleaders locker room" Hanna told him as Lucas quickly turned to Alton hoping he'd stay strong

"Oh, God. I'm sorry, Luke" Alton apologized in advance to Lucas "Lucas and Reese made a sex pact and are going to have sex on Friday" he said as Hanna couldn't help but laugh

"Your joking right?" Hanna asked Lucas

"Yeah, its all a joke" Lucas said before he leaned over to unlock the door and then got out the car before Hanna and Alton got out following after him

"You made a sex pact, why?" Hanna asked him

"I was a freshmen, and I was stupid. I'm also a guy, so that's why" Lucas said

"Yeah, we do stupid stuff in freshmen year, so why go through with it?" Hanna asked

"There were stipulations" Alton said

"And…" Hanna said wanting to hear what the stipulations were

"Either we were in a relationship or we found it" Lucas said

"What is it?" Hanna asked

"You'll know when you find it" Lucas said

"But still what is it?" Alton asked "I was confused on that as well" he said

"Your not going to go through with it, are you? I mean I just think you should treat this more than just some pact you have to honor" Hanna said

"Yes, I'm going to go through with it. I mean she's my friend, and she's not exactly unattractive" Lucas said

"True. Behind all the annoyness lies a pretty cute girl" Alton said

"This is stupid. Honor your little sex pact then" Hanna said before she turned to leave

"Where are you going?" Lucas asked

"Home. I'm sure you have guy things to do to get you ready for Friday" Hanna said sarcastically as she walked over to her house

"I think she took that well" Alton told Lucas

* * *

Pulling his books out of the locker, Lucas lazily looked through them trying to figure out if he really needed them for class or not. It took every bit of strength in him to do this because he could barely even keep his eyes open after spending the whole night watching Alton's special porn collection for preparation for tomorrow night, there was definitely some benefits in having Alton because of all the knowledge he had picked up from watching the crappy storylines that just seemed to get in the way of the reason people watched porn. Spotting Lucas at his locker, Hanna quickly ditched Mona and her on going debate over which shoes she should wear on her date Friday night and made straight line over to where Lucas was. Closing the locker door, catching Lucas's attention, Hanna did her best to read Lucas to see if he was joking about the whole sex pact thing but she knew he wouldn't joke about something so serious and if so he would have given the joke up by now.

"What do you know about this Reese girl?" Hanna asked randomly

"Okay, that's random" Lucas laughed

"What do you know about her?" Hanna asked

"She's been my friend since grade school. My parents are somewhat friendly with hers. She's insanely smart" Lucas described

"So your screwing her because she's smart?" Hanna asked

"No, I'm not screwing her. Why would you even call it that?" Lucas said

"Because that's what it ultimately is. Your not having sex because your ultimately attracted to her, your having sex because you made a stupid promise years ago because you thought you wouldn't have lost it by now" Hanna said

"Okay, so I did, but I still care about her, so no, its not screwing. What's the big deal?" Lucas asked

"Your first time should be with someone you care about" Hanna said

"I care about her" Lucas said

"In the way that matters, and you barely even mentioned her until she came back a few weeks ago" Hanna said "Now she's going to be your first" she said

"Well we all can't be like you. I don't have girls knocking down my door" Lucas said

"And you think I'm out sexing it up?" Hanna asked

"I'm just saying you have no idea why we made the pact and why going through with it isn't as bad as you make it out to be" Lucas said

"I'm a virgin, as in lack of sexual experience" Hanna told him which shocked him

"I thought Sean and you?" Lucas asked

"I wanted to, but Sean wanted to remain a virgin" Hanna said

"But you still wanted to, who's to say you won't this weekend or any other weekend" Lucas said

"What's your point?" Hanna asked

"My point is that you have options. You have guys who would love to sleep with you because your….your hot as hell, and that's the difference between you and I, I don't have that option" Lucas said

"Having sex with someone because your insecure isn't a smart thing" Hanna said "What happens when you find someone that you really like and enjoy being around, and you want to share that piece of yourself that shows them that they have you completely, but you can't give that because you just wanted to get it over with" she asked

"I don't have that problem" Lucas said

"What if is what I asked" Hanna said

"Then it would suck because yeah, I'd want to share it with someone that I cared deeply…screw the care, someone I loved. But I'm tired of waiting for her to come" Lucas said

"She could come Lucas, you just have to be patient" Hanna said softly

"I can't wait forever, and its unfair for me to even have to" Lucas said before he walked away from her, all she could do was watch him leave and in that moment she felt something trigger inside of her, some sort of sadness that she couldn't explain

* * *

Unable to think or concentrate throughout the whole day of school, all Hanna kept thinking about was the stupid pact that Lucas had made with Reese, a part of her wanted to go up to Reese and convince her that this whole pact was stupid and that they would regret it in the end, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Glad that the final bell had rung, Hanna quickly sent a text to Emily to meet her out at the parking lot. Not wanting to discuss any of this out in the parking lot in fear that someone might over hear, the two girls drove to Emily's house. Once they were at Emily's house up in her room, Hanna couldn't stop picturing Lucas and Reese in a tender embrace having sex, the thought just made her squirm even moreso at the fact that he was going to have sex with Reese of all girls. Emily sat on her bed just looking on strangely at Hanna, trying to understand what made Hanna so antsy. Realizing that she had Emily on pins and needles, Hanna grabbed a seat on Emily's bed and did her best to formulate in her head a logical reason why she was so upset.

"Okay, I think I'm ready now" Hanna said

"I'm all ears, at least I have been since we've been here" Emily smiled "Hanna, what's going on? Is it A?" she asked

"No, its not A" Hanna said assuring her friend "It's a boy" she said

"That's good, right?" Emily asked

"I don't know. It's about Lucas" Hanna said

"Aw, Lucas. We do always come back to him" Emily said

"Em" Hanna said not wanting to joke

"Sorry" Emily apologized

"Lucas made some stupid pact in freshmen year that he would have sex with his friend" Hanna said

"The guy?" Emily asked confused that Lucas was gay

"No, his girl friend. Reese Horrorwitz to be exact, the one obsessed with Spencer" Hanna said

"Oh, I remember her" Emily said

"See, isn't she creepy. I mean who obsessed about education, besides Spencer, but Spencer is a mild case" Hanna said

"Why did they make a pact?" Emily asked

"Because he thought he would never have sex before senior year or at least at all" Hanna said

"And why are you upset?" Emily asked

"Because the pact is dumb and irresponsible" Hanna reasoned

"How is it dumb? I mean if they waited two years then they've clearly thought this through and were aware the day would come. The wait was a good substantial time" Emily said

"But who makes a pact to have sex? That's just weird, I don't care how you view that" Hanna said

"To you? But a lot of people want their first time to be with a friend" Emily said

"Yeah, when there's something there, but they don't like each other like that" Hanna said

"How do you know?" Emily asked

"Because I just know. He doesn't act all goofy around her" Hanna said "He has this thing, and he doesn't do it with her or at least what I've seen" she said

"But you've seen it? Because he does it around you?" Emily asked

"I know where your going with this" Hanna said

"Then excuse me if I don't buy the whole concerned friend because its painfully clear that its more than that. You don't want Lucas to sleep with her for other reasons" Emily said

"Yeah, because I want him to have sex with someone he cares about" Hanna said

"He could very well truly care about her, you don't know that, but I know that your freaking out about it, and you don't freak out like this over a friend" Emily said

"He's just a friend" Hanna said

"Then be happy for him. Accept his decision, and put your personal views of it aside" Emily said "Less in case there is something else standing in the way of you doing that" she said

"Fine, I'll accept it and cheer him on. I'll stand by my window and cheer him on when he can't continue. I'll be his stamina guru for crying out loud" Hanna said sarcastically

"See, your all ready turning a negative into a positive" Emily said as Hanna just looked at her "How about a pizza" she said quickly changing the subject

* * *

Unloading his supplies onto the bed, Lucas and Reese looked over the items as she checked each item that was there off her list that she had compiled and even names. Lucas looked on awkwardly as Reese seemed to have taken the most intimate thing between two people and turned it into some sort of assignment she had to break down and systematically get through as if it were an English paper or something. He had known Reese his whole life and nothing about her really surprised him but he had to admit that he admired her, but deep down he had hoped in the span of the two days since being reminded about their sex pact that he would have this overwhelming feeling towards her that would make him realize that everything was going to be all right. Staring at her on occasion trying to find something that literally made him want to rip her clothes off, he just couldn't seem to picture it. Pulling her away from her list, Lucas made her sit down beside him on the bed, she looked confused by his actions for a moment before he leaned in to kiss her. The kiss was soft and sensual unlike their first kiss two years ago, breaking away from the kiss, Lucas looked at her.

"What did you feel?" Lucas asked her

"Your lips. Your wearing cherry flavored lip balm now?" Reese asked

"I don't. My lips get cracky at times, look that's not the point, what did you feel when I kissed you?" Lucas asked

"I told you, your lips" Reese asked

"If you felt nothing, then who's to say you'll feel anything tomorrow night" Lucas asked

"Lucas, this is not meant for us to fall in love with each other. This is for getting one less teenage angst out of our way" Reese said

"But shouldn't we feel something about what we're doing. I should at least get this urge to rip your clothes off at least" Lucas said

"Okay, well I'm sorry I'm not your type" Reese laughed

"No, your great. I'm lucky, but I just want us to be sure about this because there is no going back after tomorrow night" Lucas said

"And I am. Look, Lucas, I'm not the girl who dreams about the perfect anything, I'm not that girl. I don't dream about my first time or my wedding day, I look at the actuality of things and the actuality is that I'm not that girl guys want to have sex with. I'm the girl who can write a hell of a paper for class and will most likely win jeopardy" Reese said

"Yeah, your not like most girls by a long shot" Lucas laughed

"So are you with me?" Reese asked

"Yes" Lucas said

* * *

May 5, 2010. Today was the day was all he kept thinking. Tonight was the night she kept thinking. He stood at his locker making conversation with Alton and Reese like he usually had most of his high school days, carrying on like nothing was different about today. She stood with Spencer and Emily trying to stay involved in the conversation but her mind was far from anything they were talking about as she made occasional glances over in his direction wondering what exactly she could do to stop him from doing something so reckless. He could feel her gaze, but there was nothing he could say to make her understand and at this point he couldn't even rationalize his reasons he had to but knew that she might look at him differently after tonight. She wondered why her, why he felt the sudden urge to just sleep with someone he was so formal with, she knew they were close but not in that way, not like that. Numerous thoughts filled their minds, bouncing off the walls in and out of their heads and neither of them couldn't give solid answers to the question they themselves posed.

The final bell rang, and the day was over. Monday he'd be brand new with experience of what it felt like to reach adulthood was all she kept thinking as she walked passed him and his friends while following behind hers. All he could do was watch her go, he wanted to talk but he knew that she knew all to well what he would be up to so it made no sense to make pointless conversation when they both were thinking the same topic of choice. Coming home to an empty house, Hanna tried to busy herself so that way the whole night she would be occupy and whatever she would wake up to would be tomorrow's problem and not today's. In her room she found reorganizing helpful but not for long as she couldn't tear her eyes away from the window that looked over to his room, the night time made it easier to look in, but she hated the accessibility she had towards his room, she had hoped that he would close the blinds soon. Picking up her cell phone she quickly called Emily and within one ring Emily had answered.

"I didn't tell you something" Hanna said still standing at the window

"What is it?" Emily asked concerned

"I just want to know if this gives me valid reasons. Valid enough to be upset?" Hanna asked

"I thought you were going to accept it?" Emily asked

"Just tell me if its valid" Hanna said

"Okay" Emily said

"We've kissed two times and both times…..I felt it. There was a spark. Is the spark something?" Hanna asked as Emily went silent for a moment

"I can't give you the answers, only you know how you feel" Emily said

"Em, just answer me" Hanna said

"The spark is something. Most people search their whole life for the spark and never find it" Emily said

"Okay, that's all I needed to know" Hanna said "Goodnight Em" she said before she hung up the phone and immediately ran down the stairs and out of her house. Quickly walking over to his house, Hanna found a small rock on the ground and hunched over to pick it up before stopping a fair enough distance of his room. Throwing the rock up at his room, Lucas quickly opened the window to find her standing outside

"What are you doing here?" Lucas asked

"We have it. The two times that we kissed I felt it, I felt the spark" Hanna said hurriedly

"We kissed two times?" Lucas asked

"At the party and at the diner" Hanna said "Look, I know that you want to have sex and don't get me wrong I want to as well, but we deserve to have sex with people we truly care about. Alton told me the stipulations to the agreement, and you have one" she said

"And what's my stipulation?" Lucas asked

"We have it, we have the spark" Hanna said causing Lucas to look at her cautiously just to be sure she wasn't drunk of any kind because of the magnitude of what she was saying seemed to effect him

"Hanna.." Lucas said before she cut him off

"I'm giving you your out, so its on you what you decide to do with it" Hanna said wanting to say more but knew that if she kept going on that she might not be able to say all that she needs to convince him. Turning quickly, Hanna ran back to her house leaving Lucas speechless as he looked out at the window

* * *

Everything was set up in his room, the mood music all the way to the scented rainwater candles that Reese had requested. Lucas and Reese stood in the middle of his room observing their work that they had successfully put together at a short moments notice. For a moment he saw a glimmer of happiness show on Reese's face, like she had just nailed the perfect paper due to her savyness and of course her organizational skills. His heart pounded a thousand beats per minute to where it felt like it was going to rip out of his chest regardless of anything he could do to try to stop it. Taking her blouse off, Reese revealed her black lacy bra as she walked over to take a seat on the edge of his bed before extending her hand towards him. Feeling a bit overwhelmed by how she looked in a bra, a black one that could usually be seen on skin flicks, but she looked different tonight, she looked like a typical girl. Walking towards her, grabbing on to her hand intertwining it with his, he slowly leaned down to kiss her softly. The kiss had been like the others they had shared where it started off pure and innocent then turned animalistic with the more their lips touched. Losing himself he began to truly imagine himself going through with it until Hanna's face popped up in his head. Quickly pulling away from Reese's embrace, Lucas stood back trying catch his breath and recess what he was about to do, realizing that his hormones took over what he truly wanted deep down.

"I can't do this" Lucas said breathing heavily

"What? You know the stipulations" Reese said

"Yeah, and I have one. Look, I want to but not like this, not because we made some pact because we're both insecure that no one will ever like us in that way" Lucas said

"Then what's your reasoning?" Reese asked

"I think I found it. I care about a lot her, so much that I've given up great opportunity so that I could have a shot or at least see where it goes, I don't know if that classifies as it but it does for me" Lucas said

"It's the Hanna girl, isn't it?" Reese asked

"Yeah, it is" Lucas replied "I know I have a one in a million chance of ever getting to be with her, but I like my one that I have" he smiled

"Your strange Lucas, but you're so worth it" Reese said bending over to pick up her blouse

"And your beautiful, and a very good kisser surprisingly" Lucas said

"Your not bad yourself. Should we tell Alton this bit of information?" Reese laughed

"No, this should stay between us" Lucas laughed just as he heard a loud noise come from outside on the roof to where his room lead out to "What the hell was that" he said to himself as he ran over to the door to open it up to find Hanna breathing heavily on the leveled off plain of the roof. Rising her feet, Hanna soon realized her plan of stealth was ruined once she realized both Lucas and Reese were looking at her

"Oh. Hey" Hanna said in between breaths

"What are you doing?" Lucas asked

"I'm here to stop you two. To you two from making a mistake, it may not feel like a mistake right now because your all horny and in the mood but it will be something you regret. So I don't care about this stupid pact, screw the damn pact because you both know this is wrong" Hanna declared before both Lucas and Reese busted into laughter "I'm glad you find this funny" she said

"I'll see you at school, and I'll break the news to Alton" Reese said

"Okay, see you, Reese" Lucas said before she left the room just as he turned his attention to Hanna who stood with her arms folded

"You need to get your damn grapevine fixed" Hanna pouted as she made her way inside to see the scenery for the cancelled night of lovemaking "Kenny G unlimited" she said noticing the mood music cd that was playing "Are you serious?" she asked

"It wasn't my idea" Lucas said closing the door behind him

"Well did I make it in time or are you devirginized now?" Hanna asked

"We didn't have sex" Lucas said as Hanna took a seat on his bed

"Oh, well sorry" Hanna replied

"Your not sorry, you never wanted me to have sex" Lucas laughed

"I don't not want you to have sex, I just want you to have sex for the right reasons" Hanna said

"Yeah, well what you said made sense, and I realized it. So thank you for being concerned" Lucas said

"I worry about never losing my virginity and I'm fully aware that there are guys, who want to sleep with me, but I want my first time to be with someone I care about. I wanted to have sex with Sean because I really did care about him and I loved him, sex is just something I thought that would make him love me even more or would prove to myself that I was it for him" Hanna said

"So your insecure about it, too?" Lucas asked

"I'm terrified, I mean I don't want to die a virgin" Hanna said

"How about we make a pact?" Lucas asked

"No, I had to save you from your previous pact" Hanna laughed

"No not like that. How about we promise to have sex for the right reasons and not because of insecurities regardless if its before or after marriage, and that we'll both be prepared for when the moment comes" Lucas said

"I like that" Hanna smiled as she agreed to the newly formed pact

"So about what you said earlier this evening, did you meant it?" Lucas asked "Do we have it?" he asked as Hanna just smiled at him before she leaned into kiss him, getting the evidence she needed to answer his question

"Yeah, we have it" Hanna smiled as she broke the kiss

"Good because that was my stipulation that I used" Lucas laughed before walked over towards the his entertainment set to pull out the two Wii controllers before he walked back over towards her and handed one of the controllers to her. With a slight laugh on how a small thing as playing Wii seemed to be their signature thing together, Hanna excitedly hopped up from the bed ready to challenge him as he turned the game on. Giving her a quick smile the two put their game faces on and quickly got caught up in the game

"I'm so spanking you" Hanna laughed as she was enjoying beating him for once

"I'm glad I'm getting some action" Lucas laughed hysterically as she couldn't help but love his unique laugh that only caused her to laugh even more

"That's the Alton in you speaking, it has to be" Hanna laughed


	8. The Beginning Somehow Ends Up In The End

**AUTHORS NOTE: Thank you all once again for your reviews, they mean a lot. I just wanted to let you know that the BOLD parts are flashbacks and not present situations in the story. I hope you enjoy! The title is a little hint for you guys as you read, you'll realize in the end what I'm talking about.**

**Chapter Eight- The Beginning Somehow Ends Up In The End**

It always made her wonder why the school would set appointments for you to meet someone, and then when you arrive on time, you somehow still have to wait. Wasn't the whole purpose of an appointment suppose to be set period of time dedicated to one person, and when its written it becomes like a binding contract that you, the person who thought it was important at the time to write it down, is saying that I have allotted this time in my life for you until this time, this was all she could think about, and it truly troubled her as to why appointments weren't honored. She had a lot going on her mind, it felt like the world was caving in, to teens the world always felt like it was caving in but this literally felt like it to her. In the moment that she sat in the chair contemplating and thinking about the most random things that just came to her, she could swear that her anger and her irritability rose at the same time, like everything just upset her without rhyme or reason. Stewing in her own pit of confusion and anger, Hanna was finally summoned inside by the school counselor, getting up from her seat she reminded herself to stay calm and play the part. She hadn't intended to lie about anything, but life was better when you didn't portray yourself as some fragile person that needed to be tended to, and that was the last thing that she needed. Going inside the office it felt like a typical shrink type of session where the degrees were place strategically placed so as soon as the person entered they would feel a sense of relief to know that the person who was going to be evaluating you was certified to think your crazy. Taking her seat, Hanna did her best to convey confidence because they always seem to decode how a person sits or how they attempt to sit as another way of judging what's going on with them.

"So Hanna, how are you doing these days?" The Counselor asked her immediately once they were both seated in their respective chairs

"Fine" Hanna answered short and to the point

"Really? So your just doing fine these days with everything that's going on" The Counselor asked not buying her answer for one second

"I lost a friend, that's always going to stay with me" Hanna replied

"The program has Spencer Hastings giving a eulogy at the funeral, which is nice but I thought it was the five of you" The Counselor asked

"Spencer is good at public speaking, anyone that knows her knows that. If I'm not speaking at her funeral, does that make me a wreck or something?" Hanna asked

"No of course not. Your right, some people are just better public speakers" The Counselor said

"I guess what I'm trying to figure out is why I'm in here. I mean I'm fine, its been three years since Ali has been dead, so I've come to terms with the fact that she's not coming back no matter how much I want her to, and I just wish people in this town would stop looking at my me like I'm suppose to be something that I'm not" Hanna told her

"Hanna this meeting was not intended to make you feel like your being observed, its simply here to let you know that you have an outlet to talk to, that we as the faculty are aware of the stress in your life, and want you to feel like you can talk to us" The Counselor said

"I've the message loudly" Hanna replied "Tomorrow I will sit in the front row and mourn my friend, and then after that I plan to put my life back together" she said

"Your going into with a positive attitude, that's good to hear" The Counselor said happily at the progress the young woman had made through her process of grieving just before Hanna got up from her seat

"May I go back to class now?" Hanna asked

"Yes" The Counselor sighed as Hanna walked over towards the door, and was about halfway out the door before the Counselor spoke again "My door will be open when your ready to talk"

"Yeah, thanks" Hanna said going about her original plan and that was to leave anything that felt like she was a lab rat of an experimental project of how many emotions can be pulled out of the person who lost their friend

_**Sitting on the floor of her room, all she could look on in awe of her admiration that she had come to be known to her as Ali. She was beautiful and she knew it, it was like she was an angel that was earthbound. Her hair was golden, her smile was the type that only Hollywood actors always flashed in the face of cameras, her body structure was that of perfection to where it was modest but yet eye catching, everything about Alison was enviable and she knew it. Hanna was glad to be in her presence because it just made her feel like there was something special about her, and the fact that Alison saw it meant the world to her. The other girls had a certain niche that made them special in their own ways, but just like herself, it only shined alongside Alison. Turning towards Hanna, Alison quickly grabbed a seat next to her on the floor as they both laughed and played with Alison one of kind make-up kit that her father had bought her from this boutique in Paris.**_

"_**How does this make me look?" Alison asked turning to show Hanna her new blush that she had just applied to her face**_

"_**It looks great" Hanna smiled just glad that Alison if cared about her opinion in the first place "Which blush do you think I could wear?" she asked holding up her two choices as Alison examined them extensively **_

"_**I really don't think they do you justice" Alison replied **_

"_**I've looked at everything in this kit and nothing works" Hanna replied feeling defeated by her inability to make anything in the kit work **_

"_**That's because this isn't you. Hanna, this stuff is expensive and if you apply it to just any surface it will irritate it" Alison told her "You'll be able to wear this and look great in it once you start focusing more on your skin" she said**_

"_**What's wrong with my skin?" Hanna asked sadly**_

"_**Oh, Hanna. I'm sorry. I was just talking…I shouldn't have said that" Alison said realizing how defeated Hanna looked after what she told her**_

"_**No, no, it's the truth. I mean I'm stupid to think that I can wear stuff like this" Hanna said trying her best not to cry in front of Alison**_

"_**Your not stupid. You want to be pretty, and that's never a bad thing" Alison smiled in hopes that she was getting through but it seemed the more she said the more it confirmed to Hanna that she was not like Alison, Spencer, Emily, or even Aria for that matter. She was just hefty Hanna**_

"_**I guess so" Hanna said faking a smile so that Alison wouldn't feel like she had to baby her while the main point of them hanging out was to try out her new make-up kit "Lets look at what else your dad got you" she said changing the subject, which seemed to make Alison happy to oblige**_

Even dead Alison managed to have an effect on her, it was like Hanna still felt inferior to her from the grave and beyond. Throughout the whole service she couldn't move because she felt like a piece of her was in some sort of traveling machine, taken aback by the presence of her body. She wanted to feel, she wanted to have some ounce of emotion that the person that was about to be a permanent fixture in the earth was truly her best friend or was she the picture perfect image she'd always try to emulate. Her heart ached to be here in the moment and grieve but now wasn't the time, now was the time to deal and that meant opening herself up to everything that was so chaotic about her friendship with the very person she had admired. Damn, maybe the counselor was right, maybe I do need to talk to someone was all she could think about as she sat beside Emily and Spencer as they all were the grieving best friends. The whole town wept for Alison, and even moreso for the friends and family she left behind, little did they know she was still controlling her minions from beyond the grave. If only they knew the real Alison, Hanna thought.

* * *

After the funeral everyone remained at the burial site and talked amongst the family and friends of Alison to express their condolences, as the night came the crowd slowly dispersed to where it was just a few of them still out there saying their final respects until everyone gathered to watch the casket lowered into the grave. Once the casket had been lowered to the final level, all the girls looked at each other as if it were final in their minds in hearts that Alison was no longer with them, which was sad because they pretty much knew it, but this was the evidence that they could always go back to if they ever questioned it. After the prayer that was lead by the family preacher, Hanna turned to go back to her seat to grab her belongings just as Lucas walked over towards her, giving him a hug, she finally felt for the first time in weeks that she had finally had a moment where the world was spinning of kilter ever since the news came back that Alison's body was retrieved. Letting go from his embrace, Hanna and Lucas made their way through the cemetery path on their way back to his car.

"Thank you for coming. I know that Alison wasn't your favorite person" Hanna said to him

"I know how much she meant to you. It wasn't about me" Lucas told her

"I'm surprised Alton didn't come with you" Hanna said

"He sends his condolences, but he didn't feel right coming" Lucas said "Your mom left the service early, was everything okay?" he asked

"Yeah, she had to get back to work. She wanted to be there for me" Hanna smiled weakly

"Well you see, you have your very own support team, so why do I get the impression that something else is going on with you?" Lucas asked her

"Nothing is going on with me, I mean I'm feeling what's to be expected under the circumstances" Hanna replied

"Are you sure?" Lucas asked "Because I think we're pretty good at talking to each other and I would hate for us to stop progressing in that area" he said

"We're good" Hanna smiled

"Cool because I have surprise for you" Lucas said as he pulled his car keys out of his pocket as they approached his car. Opening the passenger car door for her, Hanna had gotten used to this golden treatment that he had given her ever since she first got in his car.

* * *

Pulling a shopping cart free from the rest of the shopping carts that it was entangled in, Lucas pushed the cart over towards where Hanna stood in near the entrance of the grocery store. Still trying to figure out what the surprise was when it came to a grocery store, she couldn't help but give Lucas a confused look as to why he thought this was like the greatest thing on the planet that he had made it out to be on the drive over. Grabbing on to her hand he shared the handlebar with her so that they were both driving the cart as he lead them in the direction of the produce section. Observing the lettuce, Lucas had finally laid eyes on the bunch that he wanted as Hanna just watched him take his grocery shopping seriously as he rolled up his sleeves like he was about to go to town on shopping for some food.

"Remind me where the surprise is suppose to kick in at?" Hanna asked as he bagged the lettuce up and put it in the cart

"Well this is the first process of the surprise but the surprise is that we're going to cook something together" Lucas smiled at her

"That should be interesting seeing as I don't know how to cook, the only thing I make is ready made salads" Hanna said as she pushed the cart behind a focused Lucas who was determined to make this meal "Question is, do you know how to cook?" she asked

"Would I have us in a grocery store if I didn't?" Lucas laughed

"Just because your in a grocery store doesn't mean you know how to cook" Hanna said

"Valid. Yes, I do know how to cook. My grandma is insanely good at cooking, and I use to spend my summers with her, and she made me help her in the kitchen" Lucas told her

"So one cook out of two. I observe really good" Hanna smiled as Lucas walked towards her cornering her between the celery and the broccoli, trapping her in between his arms as he moved in closer towards her

"Your going to get dirty. Your not backing out of this princess" Lucas whispered to her as she nearly fainted from the electricity she felt from being inches away from his lips but was quickly cooled down as his path towards her lips derailed towards him reaching for the celery "We have to get the meat, but while we're over here we might as well get the desert. You do like desert, right?" he asked her

"I do eat desert" Hanna smiled as he walked over to the frozen food aisle while she trailed thinking back on a time where desert would have been scoffed at

_**There was always benefits when it came to hanging out with Alison, she was like the golden child of Rosewood because everyone knew of her and just adored her, so it was no surprise that Ali managed to get the girls into Fresca, the new French restaurant in town, for free, they were considered the teenage critics as Alison liked to call it. In Rosewood, food was as plain and simple as the people, so when something new came in town it was no surprise that people flocked to get reservation until it just grew to be just another store, and in Rosewood that was most likely to happen. Each of them picked at their food not all to impressed with what they ordered while Hanna found her food choice to be the complete opposite, putting her fork down she looked up to see Alison laughing like she had done something hilarious, but the only thing Hanna had done in the time period was eat her food.**_

"_**How do we rate girls?" Alison asked them as she looked around the table for answers**_

"_**I wasn't too thrilled, but you can't go wrong with French fries" Emily laughed as did the other girls**_

"_**I've had better" Spencer replied throwing her napkin down on her barely touched plate**_

"_**I liked it. I just wish I wouldn't have eaten before we came, so thanks a lot Ali for ruining it for me" Aria teased Alison before they all turned their attention to Hanna**_

"_**I happened to enjoy the food, its better than eating at the diner like we always do" Hanna said**_

"_**We can tell you liked your food, we can see your plate clearly" Alison laughed as the girls giggled to themselves while Hanna gave a fake laugh**_

"_**This is different than the diner. I'd probably have to get desert in order to make my final decision" Aria said **_

"_**I know, the chocolate mousse cake look delicious. I'm going to pay for it during swim practice but its worth it" Emily smiled**_

"_**I'll share with you Em, so you won't have go crazy with the laps tomorrow" Alison laughed**_

"_**The cheesecake looks good" Hanna said**_

"_**Your going to have desert. Hanna you had about every course there is to be offered, don't you think that's a bit much?" Alison asked **_

"_**C'mon this is a new restaurant, she wants to live a little" Spencer defended Hanna**_

"_**Yeah, and then she'll live a little along with her diabetes" Alison laughed to herself "I'm just looking out for you Hanna" she told her**_

"_**Hanna if you want the cheesecake get it" Aria told Hanna not paying Alison any attention**_

"_**Okay, get the cheesecake Hanna. If it means that much to you" Alison smirked letting Hanna know she really didn't approve of her eating the cheesecake at all but was just going along with Aria, who was the known rebel of the group**_

"_**No, its okay. Alison is right, I'm full anyways" Hanna smiled**_

"_**Are you sure because we could split the cheesecake?" Spencer asked her**_

"_**No I'm good" Hanna said "Plus I think the waiter is tired of me flagging him down" she joked as the girls laughed along with her but deep down Hanna felt as if they were laughing more so at her than anything**_

* * *

She never knew her kitchen could even function the way he had it going at the moment, Hanna and her mom had done the basics which only included the microwave, but she found it amazing to see that their stove actually worked after plenty of years of having limited usage. Once her father left, the stove just seemed to take up space in the house, and Hanna had even suggested they get rid of it but her mom always believed that every kitchen should have one. Humming along to the music that played on the radio, Lucas whisked his homemade icing for the desert he was making, and from the aroma of what was baking in the oven it smelled intoxicating to her. Grabbing a spoon from the drawer, Lucas scooped up a tiny morsel for her to taste. Licking the icing off the spoon, she was impressed with his prowess as a cook but more at the fact that he had managed to make it fun, which she never found cooking to be ever in her life.

"This is amazing. I'm convinced that you like some secret chef or something" Hanna laughed

"Nope, just my grandmothers student" Lucas laughed "So are you ready?" he asked her

"For what?" Hanna asked

"We're making your specialty but with a twist" Lucas said handing her the bushel of lettuce "We do it from scratch" he said

"You know my specialty could be amazing as well, we should let me do that" Hanna laughed

"C'mon, its simple, and who knows you might even make this even more amazing than the bag you make it from" Lucas said pulling a knife out of the drawer to hand to her while he rolled a single leaf of lettuce up to slide in front of her as he moved closer towards her so he looking over her shoulder. Placing his hand on hers, he guided her hand so that she was holding the lettuce with one hand and the other contained the knife "The trick is that you have to roll it, so its not so big" he said softly in her ear "Then you just cut" he told her as she did as he said

"How is that?" Hanna asked turning to look at him only to see he was inches away from her face

"That's great, do you think you can handle the rest?" Lucas asked

"I'm not completely illiterate when it comes to cooking" Hanna laughed

"I'm sorry. You finish that and just put it in the bowl" Lucas told her

"Will do" Hanna smiled "You know as we're here cooking, I'm almost tempted to think this is a sneak date or something" she said

"Oh, no. This isn't a date, I'd pull out all the stops if this were a date" Lucas smiled

"Really? What would be differently? Let me guess, I would be watching you cook instead of having to help you because I think its oh, so sexy watching a man cook" Hanna said seductively

"This from the girl who says I'm whimp when it comes to taking a punch" Lucas laughed "Your doing your best to get out of this" he continued to laugh

"I'm being serious. What would be different that wouldn't classify this as a sneak date?" Hanna asked

"First of all it wouldn't be a sneak date, it'd be the real deal" Lucas corrected her

"So would you be wearing your suit and tie like you are now? Because you know a girl does have to dress for the occasion" Hanna said

"Keep chopping" Lucas told her "And maybe" he said

"So a casual date. Okay, I can work with that" Hanna said as Lucas got up to pull his tray out of the oven. Fanning the steam that arose as soon as he removed the foil from the tray, grabbing a fork and his knife he cut a piece of the meat to see that it was tender the way he wanted it. Motioning for Hanna to come over, she ditched her chopping duties to taste the steak he prepared. Enjoying the piece that he had given her, he quickly gave her the vegetable to try and found that she found the food to be simply irresistible "Yeah, on our first date your cooking for me" she told him as he laughed

"You want to know how you know it's the real deal date between us, what single item makes it a date?" Lucas asked her

"What item would that be?" Hanna asked moving in closer towards him as they seemed to play the dangerous game of flirtation and she was sure this time that she was going to win

"For desert, I'd make you….cheesecake" Lucas replied as Hanna froze getting a sudden flashback of Alison teasing her about the cheesecake that day they went to Fresca

"I have to go to my room real quick" Hanna said after she cleared her throat backing away slowly from him

"Okay, well dinner is basically ready, so I'll just wait for you" Lucas told her

"Sure" Hanna said before she made her way upstairs to her room.

Pacing the floor in her bedroom it all belt unreal, it just seemed like it was her nightmare coming back to haunt her, Alison still was here, A was still here and she had to realize that, there was no moving on and putting her life back together because A was still out there and with memories of Alison flooding her memories it just became too much for her to handle. Crying hysterically, Hanna did her best to control her emotions but found it hard to even think that everything was fine, just as she silently wept to herself her cell phone had begun to vibrate and she didn't have to look to know who it was. Slowly walking over towards her phone and pulling it out of her purse her suspicions were confirmed.

"Thought I'd forget about you Hefty Hanna. Take your finger and do the deed, you know you want to. -A" Hanna read to herself in between tears. She wanted so bad to be able to control the urge, but looking in the mirror she saw the girl she used to be. Rubbing her face aggressively she could see the fat begin to pile on to her once skinny body. She felt disgusted with herself that this girl in the mirror thought she could even compete with Alison, that she could step into her spotlight that was only meant to shine for Alison. Overwhelmed with emotions, Hanna rushed out of her room and quickly went into the bathroom slamming the door behind her. Running her fingers through her head she kept going back in forth in her head to do it or not to do it but all she kept hearing was Alison in her head telling her that she shouldn't eat this or she had too much of that or she'd never have the skin for that, all she heard was Allison. Lashing out to the voices in her head she grabbed the mirror and threw it into the shower having it break into pieces. Falling to her knees she knew she had succumbed to the voices and just wanted to be the Hanna she had invented and before she knew it, she was hunched over the toilet.

Downstairs, Lucas began to wonder what she was up to, he had thought she was probably trying to doll herself up so she could be just perfect, which in his mind she pretty much all ready was to him. He never would have thought that he'd be even hanging out with Hanna Marin, let alone possibly get the chance to be with her. Playing with his silverware, he became more and more intrigued with what she was up to. Usually he'd wait for her to come back but he couldn't, his intrigue got the best of him as he got up from the table and made his way upstairs. Walking down the hall he could see her bedroom door was open, making his way over to the door he could hear sounds come from within the bathroom. Turning away to give her privacy, he realized that she was clearly in the ladies room until he heard a gagging sound come from within. Contemplating what she could possibly be doing, his actions got the best of him and he busted inside to see her cradling the toilet deliberately trying to make herself throw up. Caught off guard by his presence, Hanna turned pale white as there no way she'd thought that he'd ever be here.

"Hanna, what the hell is going on?" Lucas asked her "Are you, are you forcing yourself to…" he said trying to fathom what was going on as Hanna tried to get up from the floor but slipped on a piece of glass nearly hitting her head on the toilet. Rushing to her side, Lucas cautiously sat beside her trying to pry her away from the toilet but she pushed him away as the tears streamed down her face "Let me help you!" he yelled not understanding why she was dead set on pushing him away

"I don't need your help! I don't need your help!" Hanna screamed "This is me, this is your dream girl and she's ugly, fat, and disgusting. Its just like she always said" she cried

"No. No" Lucas said shaking his head not buying for one second that this was her

"Yes, Lucas. I'm not this put together girl, I'm still fat ass Hanna" Hanna yelled

"Who told you that? Who's telling you this because I guarantee you that they don't know what the hell their talking about" Lucas said angrily

"She knows everything. She always knew, all I am is her and that's all I'll ever be" Hanna yelled as she punched Lucas who was holding his own holding her down not minding the fact that he was getting cut from the glass

"She, who? Who is it?" Lucas asked "Because no one can tell you are, Hanna. Listen to me, no one can tell you who you are and who your suppose to be. You decided that" he said holding her face as she tried to pull away

"Your wrong" Hanna cried "She knows" she said hysterically

"This is about Alison, isn't it?" Lucas asked suddenly beginning to realize who the she was from remembering an early discussion they had when they first talked about how Alison used to call her Hefty Hanna "Is it her?" he asked again

"I'll never be this girl, and Alison always knew that" Hanna cried as Lucas let go of her "She's dead but she's still here. She's in my head and she's just everywhere" she sobbed

"No. Alison is dead, she isn't here" Lucas told her

"Your wrong" Hanna cried "I'll always be Hefty Hanna" she said

"No, you'll never be Hefty Hanna, not to me" Lucas said leaning up against the tub so that he was sitting beside her as a moment of silence came between them "It was winter" he said

"What?" Hanna asked confused

"The first time I saw you was in the winter" Lucas smiled as he was lost in the memory of her as if were a Christmas memory that brought back the joy of being a kid "I was walking out of the school, carrying my tons of books because I was a certified nerd in freshmen year, so I was carrying all these books and I was trying to navigate through the small peepholes that I had to see through. I knew Alison was standing at the bottom of the staircase so I wanted to avoid taking the left side, which is funny because I feel like I know the left side of the staircase like the back of my hand, I mean it wasn't the first time I was carrying that many books. So I took the right side and I was doing fine until I slipped. My books and my glasses all fell to the floor. Everyone laughed at me and all I could do was try to grab everything and hurry and leave. I had just about everything except my glasses and when I spotted them I realize that the middle part was bent in the middle, so here I go to go get them and just as I reached for them, you bent down to pick them up. Alison called you but you didn't respond, and you looked at my glasses then you took the tie from your hair, took the silver clip that held the tie together and wrapped it tightly around the middle" he told her

"So I fixed your glasses, big deal" Hanna replied not impressed with that milestone in her past

"It wasn't a big deal to you, but it was for me because you went against what Alison wanted you to do and you helped me. In that moment I knew that you were different, I knew you weren't like Alison or the rest of them. That you were different in the best way possible" Lucas smiled "So yeah, your not Alison, because from where I'm sitting, your better than her even on your worst days. Your beautiful, your smart, and you have a beautiful soul, and that trumps any beauty that you could have on the outside because in my eyes your perfection" he told her

"Something's wrong with me and I don't know why I keep doing this to myself.." Hanna cried before Lucas quickly pulled her closer to him and began to rub her back gently

"Nothing wrong with you. Your perfect just the way you are" Lucas whispered to her before he kissed the top of her head as she cried in his arms

Hanna laid in bed staring out the window as she listened to Lucas finish up cleaning up the bathroom, looking at the final product to see if it was suitable enough, Lucas turned the light out in the bathroom before he entered her room. Closing the door behind him quietly as he grabbed the pillow that was on the floor and began to get ready for bed, turning over on her side, Hanna quickly sat up on her elbow forgetting that she had cut it pretty badly, she winced in pain for a little bit causing Lucas to concerned. Rushing to her side, he checked her bandage to see if her cuts were still covered after he specifically cleaned them so they wouldn't get infected.

"I'm fine" Hanna replied softly

"Are you sure because I can clean it again and put a new bandage on it" Lucas said running his fingers through his hair nervously

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a quick sensation of pain, nothing more to it" Hanna replied

"Okay" Lucas laughed softly

"Stay with me tonight" Hanna said

"I am. I was getting my little floor bed prepared" Lucas replied

"No" Hanna replied "I want you to stay with me" she said showing him that she wanted her to sleep with her instead of on the floor "Can you just hold me?" she asked

"Uh, sure" Lucas said positioning himself on the bed as he lowered his head down on the pillow while she layed back down. They both faced each other just staring into each other eye's "Goodnight" he said pushing a stray hair away from her face before he slowly leaned in to kiss her softly "Everything is going to be okay, I promise you that" he whispered to her as she nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck

"I'm sorry about dinner" Hanna muttered not tearing away from her embrace of him

"Don't worry about it. I have a feeling we'll have plenty of those to come" Lucas smiled "Your still not getting out of cooking" he said as the two laughed before they eventually fell asleep in each others arms

* * *

It always made her wonder why the school would set appointments for you to meet someone, and then when you arrive on time, you somehow still have to wait. Wasn't the whole purpose of an appointment suppose to be set period of time dedicated to one person, and when its written it becomes like a binding contract that you, the person who thought it was important at the time to write it down, is saying that I have allotted this time in my life for you until this time, this was all she could think about, and it truly troubled her as to why appointments weren't honored. She had a lot going on her mind, it felt like the world was caving in, to teens the world always felt like it was caving in but this literally felt like it to her. In the moment that she sat in the chair contemplating and thinking about the most random things that just came to her, she could swear that her anger and her irritability rose at the same time, like everything just upset her without rhyme or reason. Stewing in her own pit of confusion and anger, Hanna was finally summoned inside by the school counselor, getting up from her seat she reminded herself to stay calm and play the part. She hadn't intended to lie about anything, but life was better when you didn't portray yourself as some fragile person that needed to be tended to, and that was the last thing that she needed. Going inside the office it felt like a typical shrink type of session where the degrees were place strategically placed so as soon as the person entered they would feel a sense of relief to know that the person who was going to be evaluating you was certified to think your crazy. Taking her seat, Hanna did her best to convey confidence because they always seem to decode how a person sits or how they attempt to sit as another way of judging what's going on with them.

"So Hanna, how are you doing?" The Counselor asked taking her seat as they each sat in their respective chairs. Hanna took a deep breath knowing this was one secret that A wouldn't hold against her anymore.


	9. Miss Me, Miss Me, Now You Gotta Kiss Me

**Chapter Nine- Miss Me, Miss Me, Now You Gotta Kiss Me**

Big and colorful, that's what she always remembered of the annual Rosewood Carnival, when she was growing up. Hanna and her dad would always go to stuff their face with junk food, which was great because her mother wasn't the greatest of cooks to begin with so it gave them excuse to finally eat some real food. Now years later, and no dad in tow, Hanna was given the opportunity to be apart of the planning committee for the town Carnival, and although some of her biggest memories included her family, she still wanted to carry on the tradition. Looking around at the final set up of the Carnival as Spencer came walking towards her with her clipboard in hand, while Emily finished setting up the swimmers booth where they planned to raise money for competitions, Hanna couldn't help but smile at the final piece of the puzzle that was put together as the ferris wheel was being put together. They all stood there taking in the fact that they were apart of the biggest tradition that was in their lives, walking over towards the benches, the girls were glad to get a break after all the hard work they put in just a matter of hours.

"If there was ever a time I was glad to be sitting down" Spencer groaned

"You know your proud" Hanna smiled

"Yeah, proud. I'm also tired as well. This is going to be the longest weekend managing the Carnival on the list" Spencer complained

"Well I for one am glad its Carnival season, that gives the swim team a chance to earn some money, we need new uniforms" Emily said

"Why don't you just go to the student board, it's a student issue and they should grant you guys the money" Hanna said

"It doesn't work like that Hanna" Spencer replied "But you should at least take it to the board" she said

"Hence what I just said" Hanna laughed

"So are what day are you guys going to come to enjoy the festivities?" Spencer asked the girls

"Maya and I are going to go Saturday" Emily said shyly

"That's cool, Saturday is always packed though" Hanna said

"Yeah, which makes me even more scared, you know first big event with my girlfriend" Emily said

"Hey, don't worry about it, if you want Alex and I can tag along with you guys" Spencer told Emily

"Thanks Spence" Emily smiled at her "What about you? Are you going to bring Lucas?" she asked

"Yeah, what exactly is going on between the two of you?" Spencer asked intrigued to hear her answer

"If you must know, I'm not quite sure what's going on with us. I mean we haven't exactly hung out as much this past couple of days. I hope we can come together" Hanna said sadly at the fact that she might have scared Lucas off with her issue

"So are you finally admitting that you like the guy?" Emily asked

"Yes, Em. I like Lucas" Hanna replied giving into her questioning that she had kept up on a consistent basis

"I knew it" Emily squealed happily for her friend as both Spencer and Emily hugged Hanna for finally admitting the truth about her newfound relationship with Lucas. The girl laughed to themselves feeling like school girls hearing about each others crushes just Aria walked up towards them nervously not knowing what type of reaction she was going to get from Hanna

"Hey guys" Aria said as they broke free other embrace

"Hey you" Emily smiled

"On time, that's what I like. I'm glad because I really need you to overlook the final set up" Spencer said quickly getting back into business mode as Hanna quickly got up from her seat

"I'll see you guys later" Hanna said

"Hanna, c'mon. This has gone on long enough" Spencer said stopping Hanna dead in her tracks

"Yeah. How long are you going to keep punishing me for a stupid mistake?" Aria asked her

"I don't know when I'm able to trust you" Hanna replied

"You know you can trust me. Sean and you were broken up, so its not like he cheated on you" Aria said

"I can't believe you, only you would justify what you did as okay while I'm suppose to be the drama queen" Hanna said

"Nothing about what happened was okay but I just want my friend back" Aria said "I'm tired of the shifts with Em and Spencer. This is stupid and you know this" she said

"Fine then we'll split custody" Hanna replied sarcastically

"Speaking on behalf of one of the two people your planning to share custody over, I'm tired of it as well. You guys need to figure this out because its stupid to be fighting over a boy that your not even dating anymore" Emily said

"Em's right Hanna" Spencer said

"That's not the point Em" Hanna replied sternly that she was taking Aria's side in this

"Then what is?" Aria asked

"The point is that you did something behind my back. Would you have even told me about it?" Hanna asked

"Yes, I would have because I know where secrets have lead us" Aria replied in reference to A

"Yeah, so you would be completely honest with me?" Hanna asked

"Yes" Aria replied

"I ran into Sean's mother the other day" Hanna said hoping to get Aria's full attention "She asked me if I enjoyed the flowers Sean sent me after Homecoming, which is funny because I never received any flowers. So answer this, did Sean send you flowers?" she asked as Aria stood still knowing that she was busted in this one

"It wasn't what you think" Aria replied softly

"I don't care, I got my answer" Hanna said turning to leave

* * *

****

Coming downstairs, Lucas soon found that his house had turned into a miniature hotel with his two cousins running crazy throughout the house, while his father and uncle were out in the back firing up the grill for the bbq. It was always usually around this time of year that his family would come into town for the Carnival, his grandmother grew up in Rosewood so it was always something she would take the children to, and when she moved away, she made it a habit to still come back to the old neighborhood to continue on the tradition. No matter how crowded the house got, Lucas was always glad to have his grandmother in town because if there was one person that understood him best it was her, and times living in a household where his parents were very anti-social and only enjoyed bowling club meetings. Glad to find his mom and his grandmother in the center of the chaos, Lucas joined his mother in the kitchen as he took a seat at the kitchen counter.

"And there is my grandson. I was wondering when you were going to come down to join us" Lucas's grandmother smiled happily to see her grandson before he leaned in to kiss her cheek

"What's going on out back?" Lucas asked

"Bbq and your father and uncle think they can build a tree house" Lucas's mother replied

"Dad can't build" Lucas laughed

"Hence the disaster that will ensue. I'm glad we have the fire departments personal number" Lucas's grandmother laughed

"So are you excited to go to the Carnival?" Lucas's mother asked him

"Are you kidding me? I have my grandma with me, what's not to be excited" Lucas smiled

"Are you going to be bringing anyone with you?" Lucas's grandmother asked

"Why do I feel like I'm being cornered into answering this question?" Lucas asked

"I told you he's too smart" Lucas's grandmother said to his mother "Who is the blonde girl your mother is talking about?" she asked

"Oh, she's a classmate" Lucas replied

"A classmate that he's been smitten with since seventh grade, who happens to live across the street" Lucas's mother laughed

"Okay, yes I'm smitten with her" Lucas said

"Describe her to me?" Lucas's grandmother asked him

"Uh, sure. She's got blonde hair. She's about my height…" Lucas said before his grandmother and mother looked at each other and laughed "What's wrong?" he asked nervously that they all ready disapproved

"Describe her, not what she looks like" Lucas's grandmother asked before he took a moment to think of the best way to answer this just as a smile came to his face that showed he was ready to describe Hanna

"She's extremely competitive, I think she could be the first person, who could beat me at Wii. She laughs at everything I say, which is funny because she has the goofiest laugh I've ever heard. When she eats Chinese food, she opens the fortune cookie because she thinks eating before knowing your fortune is bad luck. She hates hearing commercials on the radio, so she always changes the station to avoid them even if that includes turning to a Spanish station, and she snores" Lucas laughed until he realized the last part of what he said "You know, in the car, when she falls asleep

"She sounds interesting. Is she your girlfriend?" Lucas's mother asked

"No, but I want her to be" Lucas smiled

"You want to know how your grandfather asked me to be his girlfriend?" Lucas's grandmother asked

"I thought you guys just married, skip dating and go to matrimony kind of deal" Lucas said

"No, we dated. Things weren't that black and white then" Lucas's grandmother said "We had been seeing each other for months, and it would just be talk and talk. He had kissed me a few times but not like the big kiss I had wanted him to give me" she said

"The big kiss? What is that?" Lucas asked

"The kiss where you show them that they are all you think about, where there is no other person you'd rather kiss than that person, and if you were to have a hundred kisses you'd hope each and every last one of them would be with that person" Lucas's mother said

"All that from one kiss" Lucas said "I thought kissing someone meant all those things" he said

"There's a difference in kisses Lucas. There's a kiss that says hello, a kiss that says good morning, a kiss that says please stop talking, a kiss that says I missed you, a kiss that says goodnight, and then there's the kiss" Lucas's grandmother said

"I get the one that says please stop talking a bit often, but I agree" Lucas's mother laughed

"So going back to the story. I had become upset that he hadn't asked me to go steady, so I decided I would take someone else to the Carnival" Lucas's grandmother said before Lucas interrupted her

"Which is the reason why you love going to the Carnival" Lucas smiled before his grandmother hit him upside his head

"Never interrupt while speaking" Lucas's grandmother said

"Sorry" Lucas smiled

"Anyways, I took Ben Drexler and that made him mad because Ben always competed with your grandfather in everything, so taking me to the Carnival had him piping mad. He had avoided talking to me, which was fine because I knew Ben would talk to me at the Carnival and I always told him that. So I go to the Carnival and I'm there but I'm not enjoying any bit of the things I always loved about the Carnival. I see him at the carnival with his friends, and that makes me even more upset and sad because he could that easily forget about me. So I get on the ferris wheel and I'm trying not to cry, when the ride ends I get off and Ben is standing there waiting for me because the coward was afraid of heights, then out of nowhere your grandfather comes up and he turns me towards him then he kissed me" Lucas's grandmother smiled

"Just like that?" Lucas asked

"Yes, and then later on that evening he took me out to the river bank under the moonlight and asked me to…oh, my" Lucas's grandmother said realizing that Lucas was right all along "We never dated. Your grandfather asked me to marry him" she laughed

"I told you" Lucas laughed hysterically

* * *

She never thought that she'd be able to do something like this, she never thought that'd she'd be one of these people, in her mind it was normal but in her heart she felt wrong whenever she did it. Attending her first treatment session, Hanna played nervously with her fingers in hopes that she wouldn't have to stand up and introduce herself like she had seen plenty of times in tv and in films. Looking around the room she realized that these people were normal, people whom she never would have thought could have had a problem and it made her feel a bit at ease to know that there wasn't a certain type of person that did this, that anyone could feel like this, could feel the pressure of trying to be perfect. Listening to each other their stories she felt a bit of her story was being told through someone else voice whether they had someone in their life that made them feel they weren't good enough or they had family issues that caused them to feel even more alone than what they all ready were, just like everyone in the meeting she knew she had to re-learn the basics about eating healthy and controlling her emotions when it came towards eating. Once the meeting was over she was glad to see that Lucas had been in the back and looked very involved in listening to the director of the program teach all of the members the basics towards starting over.

"Hey" Hanna smiled at him as she walked over to him

"Hey" Lucas said "I remembered that today was your first meeting and I just thought I should come" he said shyly

"I'm glad you did" Hanna replied as they walked into the hallway

"So how are you doing?" Lucas asked

"I'm good. It's a little nerve racking to actually talk about it with other people, but today felt like a new start" Hanna said

"That's good. Well we could do this together if you want, I'd be more than happy to come with you" Lucas offered

"Thank you" Hanna smiled "So what have you been up to? I haven't seen you as much as I'm used to" she asked

"Oh, nothing really. I've been running errands for my parents" Lucas said

"Oh, good because I kind of thought you were trying to avoid me or something" Hanna said

"Why would I avoid you? What you think I'd scare off because of what happened?" Lucas asked as Hanna couldn't help but feel shy

"Its not everyday you see someone throwing up their food, so it's a reasonable to jump to that conclusion, when you think of it" Hanna said

"I'm not avoiding you. Things are just a little hectic right now at my house" Lucas smiled "I actually…" he said just before his cell phone began to ring

"Your phone" Hanna pointed out before he dug in his pocket to answer the phone

"Hello" Lucas answered the phone "Oh, I'm sorry. I completely forgot….I'll be right there. Okay, I love you" he said before he hung up the phone and pulled his keys out

"Was that your mom?" Hanna asked

"No" Lucas quickly answered as if he was thinking about a million things all at once "Did you need a ride or something?" he asked

"No, I was going over to Spencer's house, which is around the corner from here" Hanna replied

"Okay. Well I'll talk to you soon" Lucas smiled before he ran off to his car while all Hanna could watch him leave feeling like a fool to think that he still cared about her after what happened last Saturday

* * *

****

It was always a reminder whenever Hanna went over to the Hastings house that they were always so business oriented as a family, she remembered whenever the girls would spend the night over at Spencer's house her parents were always so formal and always had cell phones attached to their hands because they would get business calls left and right, at one point the family room for them seemed like their individual offices, in which they would sometimes gather to discuss appearances the family had to make. Finishing up the list of things Spencer wanted completed, Hanna was more than eager to go home and catch up on some sleep before she'd have to go to the Carnival later on that evening. She wanted to take her mother, but with her crazy schedule there was no way that she could commit to give Hanna a sure answer. Hanna had hoped to go with Lucas but he was basically missing in action all week at school and at home, she wanted to believe his reasoning but under different circumstances then she could settle but not this time. Stopping off at the café, Hanna had craved a mocha as her treat for surviving her fist meeting, entering into the café she was surprised to see Sean sitting off in the corner on his laptop. At first she did her best to avoid him after ordering her drink but she had been spotted and he was soon making his way over towards her.

"Hey Hanna" Sean said as he came up to her

"Where's Aria?" Hanna quickly replied

"I see your still upset with me" Sean said

"No, I'm just peachy king with the fact that I caught you making out with one of my supposed best friends" Hanna said "But I will except the fact that I need to get over it, but don't think for one second think we're cool" she said

"I would never think that" Sean smiled "So you've been rebelling against Mona lately. Mona's been yelling at her minions that they don't compare to you" he laughed

"Yeah, she's been texting me more than usual as of late" Hanna replied

"Well I think its probably for the best you stopped hanging out with her" Sean said

"Oh, and why is that?" Hanna asked

"Because Mona is all into popularity status and everything involved with the in crowd" Sean said "It's getting annoying" he said

"Well I'm sorry to hear that it annoys you" Hanna said

"What have you been up to?" Sean asked

"Sean, what are you doing here? I mean the small talk and the I think it was for the best speech about Mona, c'mon, I know you, what's really going on?" Hanna asked not buying for one second that Sean just wanted to talk about random stuff all of sudden

"I miss you Hanna. I know I messed up with Aria, but it was just a momentary lapse of judgement, and plus we were on the rocks" Sean said

"So that makes it okay for you to go kiss her. Sean we were on the rocks before then" Hanna said

"Yeah, but I think since we've both had our space we can see and appreciate each other now" Sean said

"You really hurt me by doing what you did?" Hanna said

"I know, and I wish I could take it back, but I think in a way it helped us. We'd be different next time around, I'm sure of it" Sean said "We don't have to just get back together, how about we just take it slow?" he asked her

"And what is that suppose to mean?" Hanna asked

"Lets go to the Carnival together. I know how much you love going, and we always have a good time going together" Sean said "I guess Carnival season has made me realize all the memories we had together, and I'm not sure I want to give that up" he said

"You make a strong case, but I don't know" Hanna said

"Just think about it, I won't force an answer out of you" Sean said "Just let me know" he said

* * *

Dusting off the old camera that his grandmother had, Lucas sat in his room at his desk preparing to fix up her camera that she wanted to take to the Carnival. He hated fixing it up because it always created headaches for him, but she loved the old camera and refused to buy a new one regardless of how much he promoted how advanced technology had become to her. Pulling out his tool kit that he had stashed away in his drawer, he began to take the camera apart just as Alton hopped off the grapevine and made his way over to his room. Opening the door to his bedroom, Alton let himself in like he had been doing ever since Lucas knew him and made himself comfortable on his bed. Lucas could tell that Alton was nervous about something just by the simple fact that he hadn't annoyed him with questions or mentioned something grotesque that would most likely get him slapped by the opposite sex.

"Where's Hanna at?" Alton asked

"Probably at home or at the Carnival" Lucas said not tearing his attention away from the camera

"Oh, so she is going?" Alton asked

"Yeah, I would assume since she's helping Spencer" Lucas said

"So just work no pleasure?" Alton asked him

"What's with the questions? You know how actively involved Spencer is and you know that their best friends, so the two kind of go hand in hand" Lucas said

"I'm sorry I'm not privileged to know all things Hanna Marin like you are" Alton said

"Well consider yourself unlucky then that is to not know all things Hanna Marin" Lucas smiled to himself

"You must feel like your on cloud nine, the girl you've been obsessing over since seventh grade is finally giving you the time of day" Alton said

"I wouldn't put it like that" Lucas said "But yeah I would say I have a shot" he said before Alton began to shake his foot nervously

"Which makes what I'm about to tell you hard, very hard" Alton said as he got up to pace the floor unsure how to tell his friend

"What's hard? Alton if this is another one of your sick jokes, I swear I will throw you out" Lucas said

"No. This is about your fantasy coming to an end" Alton said

"What's that suppose to mean?" Lucas asked confused

"I heard from a friend that has a friend, who has a friend, then they have a cousin, who has another friend, that has a friend, that knows this friend, and he was in the café today and he saw Hanna" Alton said

"So? She got thirsty big deal" Lucas said

"With Sean Ackerman" Alton said "He overheard them talking about going to Carnival together and possibly getting back together" he said as Lucas froze for a second

"No, she wouldn't" Lucas said

"Luke, the girl is popular and he's just as popular as her" Alton said "Popular and popular attract" he said

"We were fine, we are fine" Lucas said in disbelief

"Yes, as friends probably. She probably tells her friends that you might be gay because you two get along so well" Alton said

"What? Alton we've kissed" Lucas said

"It was probably a pity kiss, like she felt sorry for you or something. That's what they all do" Alton said getting into his conspiracy mode before Lucas quickly got up from his chair and quickly walked over to his closed bedroom door to open it, hinting to Alton that he wanted him to leave "What? I have to go? I'm trying to help" he said

"Your not doing a good job" Lucas said

"Don't shoot the messenger. I'm trying to help so you don't get in too deep" Alton said

"Go home Alton. I'll talk to you tomorrow" Lucas said before Alton just obliged Lucas's wishes and just as he turned to say something Lucas had all ready closed the door in his face. Walking back over to his desk, Lucas couldn't help but look out his window over at Hanna's window to see that she wasn't home. He felt like his heart had been ripped out his chest as what he thought was beginning to be so perfect started to feel like a fantasy like Alton had said.

* * *

The opening night of the Carnival had been the craziest it had ever been, there had seemed to be more people that went to the opening night than last years, which made Spencer glad at the end of the day and made a lucrative profit for Emily. Since Friday was such a huge opener they only imagined that Saturday would just be insane and packed beyond belief. After the Carnival was over, Hanna had decided to stay behind and help clean up, by the time they were finally done it was too dark to even think about walking home, the thought had crossed her mind to call Lucas but she thought he'd be out running errands with the person he declared his love for on the phone earlier that day so she ended up just staying the night at Emily's house. Waking up early the next morning so they could get a decent breakfast, Emily and Hanna had made they're way over to the café. Sipping on her coffee, Hanna had hoped that it would be just what she needed to wake her up but it was slow to kick in.

"I love the Carnival but I'm going to be happy when it's over" Emily said half awake

"I agree whole heartedly" Hanna laughed "So tonight is the big double date night, are you excited?" she asked

"Kind of" Emily said "You saw how packed it was, and what if people don't like seeing Maya and I together" she worried

"Emily, practice saying I don't care what you think, it'll do you good" Hanna said "Besides its not like they're in the relationship. Just have a good time" she said

"Are you and Lucas going tonight since you don't have to work for Spencer tonight?" Emily asked

"Would love to but I think I'm going to just do the set up and spend my night in" Hanna said

"I thought Lucas and you were going to go together?" Emily asked

"Plans changed, as well as him. He hasn't asked me to go and I was going to ask him but we got interrupted by a mysterious caller whom he said I love you to" Hanna reported to Emily

"Okay, maybe it could have been his mom" Emily suggested

"I thought the same thing but when I asked if it was he said it wasn't" Hanna replied

"What if it was like a family member or something" Emily said

"He would have told me. He's told me about his grandmother voluntarily, so he would have told me if that was a family member on the phone" Hanna said

"Why are you so quick to think the worst of him?" Emily asked

"I thought the best of him, now I'm being realistic. I missed the boat on the nice guys, now I'm stuck with Sean" Hanna said

"How are you stuck with Sean?" Emily asked

"Sean asked me to go with him and he's planning to go tonight" Hanna said "He wants to get back together" she said

"Wait, the same Sean that your crucifying Aria over for kissing?" Emily asked

"Oh, can we just leave Aria out of this. A part of me wants to go with Sean just to show her that he still came back to me but even I'm not that cruel, I'm not planning on going with him because the person I wanted to go with has other plans with the mysterious I love you caller" Hanna ranted

"How is Sean even in the picture still? I thought you liked Lucas?" Emily asked

"Em, I do like Lucas. He's damn near perfect for me but Lucas is currently unavailable and I think I've scared him off. Sean is just a good trip down memory lane but I know we couldn't work even if we tried" Hanna told Emily just as Reese came inside the café. Spotting Hanna with her friend, Reese walked over to them

"Hi Hanna" Reese greeted her "Hi, I'm Reese" she introduced herself to Emily

"Hi, I'm Emily" Emily replied as she smiled at the girl

"In for your sugar fix?" Hanna asked Reese

"I wish. I'm ordering what you guys are having, big cup of coffee. I was up late last night studying" Reese said

"Only Spencer and you have the energy to do that. Fridays are my day off" Hanna laughed

"Comparison with Spencer Hasting, that's a great way to start off the morning" Reese said irritated to hear the name Spencer as Emily looked at Hanna with concern but Hanna had just motioned to Emily that it was normal when it came to Reese "I'm trying to be a good friend and at least be some fun at the Carnival with Luke" she said

"Wait, what? Lucas is going to the Carnival?" Hanna asked

"Yeah, it's a big event for him, and he's been asking me to go for the longest" Reese said

"When did he ask you?" Hanna asked intrigued to hear

"Yesterday. I just gave in since we were both running errands" Reese said "He must be playing it cool with you because this is always the most excitement you get out of Lucas around this time of year" she said

"Oh, he's playing it cool all right" Hanna said a bit upset but didn't want to convey it

"Well I'll see you there then. I have to grab coffee and go to the library, it was nice talking to you" Reese said before she walked away to go order her coffee

"Yeah, family member all right" Hanna quickly replied

"It still might not be what you think" Emily said

"What more evidence do I need. He asked Reese to go, the girl who he was planning to lose his virginity to a couple of weeks ago, so it makes perfect since why he would declare his love for her" Hanna reasoned

"I think your still jumping the gun" Emily said as Hanna pulled out her cell phone and began to text away on it "What are you doing?" she asked

"Taking Sean up on his offer" Hanna said before she sent Sean a text message asking to go with him

"Hanna, think about this" Emily told her

"I have and I think I'm pissed at the dork" Hanna said before she received a text from Sean "And now I have a date, we'll both be with people we love" she said showing Emily, Sean's text message

* * *

Like they all expected the Carnival was packed with people, there were children laughing and playing on the numerous rides, all the junk food you could eat, but most of all it finally felt like some good kind of fun for once and that was rare for all of them. The double date had managed to turn into a triple date with Hanna and Sean included in the bunch. Hanna didn't want to give Sean the wrong idea by going alone together, but the little time they spent together on their way over to the Carnival had been good. After what felt like hours of rollercoaster heaven, Sean and Alex had gone off to grab the food orders the girls had placed while they found a place to sit in the sitting area. Enjoying their time together, the girls couldn't help but joke and laugh at each other, each impersonating the other on the funny faces they made on the rollercoaster, which was fun for Hanna seeing as Spencer was known for screaming her head off on rides even the kitty ones. Once the guys came back with the food the girls literally grabbed everything in sight and began to eat, for a moment Alex was concerned that there wouldn't be anything left for Sean and him

Glad to finally get a break from getting beat in every game they attempted to play, Lucas, Reese and Alton made their way over to the sitting area to grab a few hot dogs and sit the round of games out before Lucas's grandmother came to get them for the rollercoasters. It always amazed Lucas how someone as old as his grandmother still liked getting on rollercoaster, it was like it didn't phase her at all that she was old, if anything she felt like she had to prove that she was still young at heart to the family. Still torn up about how things went down with Hanna, Lucas was glad that his friends had came with him because Reese and Alton's bickering did manage to take his mind off of her a little bit. While Reese went to get the food, Lucas and Alton went to go look for a seat. Passing a huge crowd of people, Lucas and Alton laughed at the seriousness that seemed to be the sitting area unaware that the joke would quickly die down once they saw Hanna with her friends, but mostly with Sean. Standing motionless, Lucas couldn't help but stare. Caught up in her laughter over Alex's joke about Spencer, Hanna glanced over surprised to see Lucas looking back at her. For what felt like an eternity the two looked at each other both full of hurt and pain to see that they were both here but with other people. Noticing that Hanna's gaze had gone elsewhere, Emily nudged Hanna's arm as if she were signaling her to go talk to Lucas but before Hanna could even think to do something Lucas quickly made his way over. Noticing Hanna's nervousness of Lucas, Sean quickly cut Lucas off of his path of Hanna.

"What are you doing?" Sean asked holding Lucas back

"Dude, really?" Lucas replied angrily at Sean for even thinking he could stop him from talking to Hanna "Hanna, what are you doing? What is this?" he asked her trying to move past Sean but Sean bigger body enabled that from happening

"Look she clearly doesn't want to talk to you, so just leave her alone" Sean said

"What are you like her bodyguard now?" Lucas asked upset that Sean was now her protector when he had been the cause of her pain "Hanna, talk to me" he told her

"Just go back to Reese, Lucas. I mean that's who you came with, that who you wanted to go with" Hanna said as the others looked on at the mini drama

"What? Your going to throw Reese in my face when you're here with captain cardboard" Lucas replied

"Hey! Leave her alone" Sean said pushing Lucas back harder causing more attention on them as Hanna quickly jumped up from her seat concerned for Lucas but Sean had held her back so that she couldn't get around her "Hanna stay back" he told her as Lucas gathered himself

"Are you all right?" Alton asked Lucas concerned for his friend "Let's go" he suggested

"No, I'm good" Lucas replied with the biggest of smiles on his face

"Are you sure because your about to be pummeled right now" Alton asked confused why his friend was smiling

"I think you should listen.." Sean said before Lucas quickly turned and swung at Sean's face, knocking him to the floor as he gained balance on his two feet while standing over Sean

"Now I'm really good" Lucas said nearly out of breath as he looked down at Sean groan in pain before looking up at Hanna "There's your prince charming" he said becoming increasingly upset before he stormed off with Alton close behind him

"Are you okay?" Hanna asked Sean as she knelt down beside him

"Yeah, I'm fine" Sean said as she helped him up from the floor "Aw, he has a good right punch" he groaned in pain before Maya quickly pulled Hanna off to the side while everyone else tended to Sean

"Hanna, what are still doing here?" Maya asked her

"What do you mean? I'm here with Sean" Hanna said

"No, I mean you need to after Lucas. You two clearly got your communication mixed up" Maya said

"I think we got it right. He wants Reese, so he can have her, he loves her" Hanna said

"If he wanted Reese do you think he would have punched Sean like that?" Maya asked "Go after him" she told her

"What about Sean?" Hanna asked feeling like a part of her was all ready running after Lucas

"He's a big boy" Maya smiled before Hanna quickly took off running through the crowd of people

* * *

Running through the crowd of people, Hanna looked desperately for Lucas in the midst of what felt like millions of people that stood in her way. Ending up in the parking lot, Hanna felt her chances of finding him grow slimmer and slimmer at the minute because God only knew where he had parked at or if he even drove at all. The roar of the crowd caught her attention as the fireworks had begun lighting up the sky with numerous colors, and although she wanted to enjoy this moment she couldn't because all she had on her mind was finding Lucas. Breathing heavily, she felt tears come to her eyes as she couldn't manage to think of any place he could be and by the time she would find him it'd be too late to even figure out where the hell they got mixed up at. Tears streaming down her face, Hanna looked up at the fireworks lost in the moment before she was quickly pulled into a kiss. Full of intensity and passion, she was swept in a wave of emotion that she feared who she could possibly be making out with but there was a certain familiarity that became obvious to her when the fireworks that were happening in reality seemed to be exploding within the kiss. Breaking the kiss, she was glad to see that she was right all along.

"There it is again, that spark" Hanna said breathlessly before he leaned into kiss her again

"That's hello" Lucas said breaking the kiss before kissing her again "That's stop talking" he told her before kissing her again "That's I miss you" and again kissing her "And that's I want to be with you" he said making the last kiss last a little longer than the others

"What was the first kiss?" Hanna asked breaking the kiss with her arms draped around his neck as she smiled at him

"The kiss" Lucas told her "You do know what the kiss is right?" he asked with their lips barely an inch away from each other with a quick laugh, a laugh that he grew to love more and more he heard it

"Every girl knows what the kiss is" Hanna smiled before she pulled him into another kiss as they made out with the fireworks in the background. Breaking the kiss, Hanna laughed at how surreal this all felt for her going from tears to happiness. Pulling her in closer to him, he lost himself in the intoxicating scent of her while she smiled into the crook of his neck. Wrapped up in each other, they lost focus on the fact they were being watched but were soon brought back to reality with a subtle cough from an elderly woman. Turning to look to see if they were someone's way, Lucas looked over and laughed to see that his family watched the two, his grandmother and mother stood with the biggest of smiles on their face while Alton and Reese bickered as usual.

"Hanna, I want you to meet my family" Lucas said as he lead her over to his family as they quickly greeted her and was more than pleased with his choice

"You were right Luke, she is beautiful" Lucas's grandmother told him as all Hanna could do was look at him and smile at the fact that he had told his grandmother about her after all this time she thought that she was the furthest thing from his mind when really she was on it all along.


	10. Beauty and The Hermes

**AUTHORS NOTE: Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you that have written reviews or have put this story under alert or put me as fave author. Whatever way you show that you like the story is very flattering and I was thinking about slowing down the writing but every morning this week I have woken up to beautiful reviews or e-mails that show that people like the story and that is more than appreciated, so I'll keep up the fury of writing so you get your fix because Tuesdays can't come quick enough for me. Also thank you to the shout out on , I always read those message boards for practically every show I watch so its really cool to see my story get a shout out. So yeah, I want to give thanks to you guys. I will be updating frequently, if I don't then I'm trying to get inspired through my usual source which is music for the next chapter. Look for night time updates since I write mostly at night and afternoon updates because sometimes I finish a chapter that night and start another one then finish it up the next day. Thanks once again to all of you and enjoy!**

**Chapter Ten- Beauty and The Hermes**

Standing in the middle of the living room, Lucas played the perfect grandson as he watched his grandmother and aunt along with his uncle say their final goodbye's to his parents, while he gathered and packed up all of his cousins toys to put in their backpacks. Earlier that morning he had woke up bright and early to make breakfast for his grandmother to show her that he still was perfecting his craft of cooking like she had taught him, watching her go was always sad but it only made him look forward to the next time she would visit. Giving his final hug, Lucas watched his family pile into their oversized Ford Explorer, cranking their traditional road music with the air conditioning running on full blast before they finally pulled out of the driveway and drove off into the sunset or at least onto the highway he thought. Aware that he had school in a three hours or so, Lucas quickly made his way back upstairs with his parents close behind wanting to get back in the bed before work, cautiously watching his parents going into their bedroom, making sure that were in for good, Lucas finally entered into his darkened bedroom. Lightly closing the door behind him, happy that he was finally back in the comforts of his own room once again, before he could even imagine to walk back over to his bed, he was quickly pulled into a kiss. There was no need to guess whom had captured his lips because it had been the lips he'd been dreaming about for the longest, backing her over to his bed the two fell back onto his bed making out like crazy just happy that they didn't have to pretend how they felt about each other anymore.

"I thought your family was never going to leave" Hanna said breaking the kiss

"Yeah, we had a few close calls, but I'm glad things are back to normal" Lucas said as he leaned forward to kiss her forehead

"I'm just glad I don't have to climb that grapevine anymore in the middle of the night, I'm hoping you'll get that fixed soon" Hanna laughed

"I plan to" Lucas said pulling her in closer to his body "I like this" he whispered to her as he tucked away the strand of hair that was in her face

"What do you like?" Hanna smiled up at him as they both got comfortable underneath the covers of his bed

"I like being like this with you, being able to kiss you and hold you. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't dream about this" Lucas laughed as he drifted into sleep

"Really?" Hanna asked with the biggest of smiles on her face

"Yes, really" Lucas said "You're my dream girl" he laughed

"I would love what you just said if there was sincerity in it, who laughs during a compliment?" Hanna laughed

"I laugh because of the fact that I used to dream about you and you're my dream girl, so it goes together in some ways" Lucas babbled before Hanna leaned in to kiss him

"How about we just go back to sleep" Hanna said breaking the kiss as she rested her head on his chest before he quickly opened his eyes

"Are you nervous about school?" Lucas asked

"What's there to be nervous about?" Hanna asked

"Things will be different, I mean its kind of official now that we're dating, right?" Lucas asked her "And people will know" he said

"I'm sure we don't have to make a public announcement about it, but we're dating" Hanna said

"So is it going to be weird?" Lucas asked looking down at her

"How will it be weird?" Hanna asked

"Okay, geek and beauty, that's where it can be weird" Lucas brought up

"Just go back to sleep. This is all in your head" Hanna sighed

"All right, all in my head" Lucas said "Set the alarm?" he asked her

"Set it for seven" Hanna replied as Lucas reached over to his bedside table to set the alarm on his clock before drifting off to sleep

* * *

Pulling into the parking lot of the school she hated to admit that a part of her was feeling a bit nervous and scared. Every part of her liked being with Lucas, but then there was another part of her that did care about what people were going to say about the two of them together as a couple. Before when they were hanging out people had just chalked it up to the popular girl with a heart that appreciated good people and friends regardless of status, but people never expected the popular girl to date what Lucas felt he was, the geek. She hated that she was feeling this way, but it was something she couldn't manage to ignore as it all became real once they got closer to school. Getting out the car, Lucas checked his backpack one last time making sure he had all his books while Hanna scanned the parking lot searching for a reason to delay walking down the hallway together. The closer he came towards her, the more she began to panic and needed to find something, leaning in to kiss her cheek, Hanna quickly spotted Emily.

"Em!" Hanna called out trying not to display her nervousness before Emily turned to look at her from afar "Wait up, I have you homework assignment" she said before she turned to Lucas who seemed like he didn't quite know what to do because he was caught off guard "I'm sorry, I have to give Emily her homework back and have her explain this problem for me because I think I'm going to have a pop quiz in math" she explained to him

"Oh, okay. Well I'll see you at lunch then seeing as in class we sit on opposite sides of the room" Lucas laughed nervously

"Yeah, we can totally have lunch together" Hanna smiled "I'll see you" she said giving him a quick kiss on the cheek not knowing that he was leaning in to kiss her on the lips

"Can't wait" Lucas replied before Hanna walked off over towards Emily, who was waiting for her on the side entrance of the school. Lucas looked on at the two girls go inside thinking that today would be different than all the other days because he'd finally have the girl on his arm, but it'd have to wait. Locking his car up, Alton happily joined his friend as they began to walk towards the entrance of the school together. Walking down the hallway together, Alton and Lucas received their usual look and laugh that they had grown accustomed as they joined Reese by her locker.

"Where is the new girlfriend?" Reese asked

"I was thinking the same thing" Alton laughed "Could have used Hanna to talk to Mona over there" he said

"Mona wouldn't talk to you if you were the last person on this earth" Reese replied

"She's getting help with her homework" Lucas replied

"Never pinned her for the knowledge seeking type, average, but not knowledge seeking" Reese replied

"She is plenty smart" Lucas said "So what was the big emergency that you text about?" he asked

"I'm glad that my emergencies cause you to react with such swift movement" Reese replied

"That's because your definition of emergency is if the grammar is wrong in a book, which does not constitute as emergency" Alton said

"Okay can we skip the banter today guys. What is the emergency?" Lucas asked

"Mr. Smith wants to see you" Reese told Lucas who seemed a bit scared to hear that Mr. Smith had wanted to see him, he knew that it had been some time since he had talked to Mr. Smith , which was not like him seeing as Mr. Smith was practically the closest thing he had to a mature adult friend at this school, where the teachers are paid to be nice to you

"What did you do?" Alton asked Lucas

"Nothing. I'm sure he just wants to check in with me to see how things are going" Lucas said

"Yes, because he cared about the fact that your now Hanna Marin's boyfriend, I think he has bigger things to worry about" Reese said closing her locker door as she adjusted her book bag "I'd try to think of another reason why he wants to see you" she smiled sarcastically before she walked off down the hallway leaving the boys behind to ponder

* * *

Bored with math class, Hanna was glad that the teacher had let her go to restroom for her usual primping session in the mirror. Re-applying her make up and her lip gloss, Hanna had found through her treatment sessions that she began to value the image that was now in the mirror. There were times where she could see the minor things that blew up in her head as major details of what was wrong with her, but learning to love herself completely was showing her that she was worth more than she had given herself credit for, all it took was one day at a time, she couldn't promise a complete transformation from a girl who was making herself throw up but she wanted to be better. Coming into the bathroom, Hanna quickly noticed Mona as she appeared to stay true to her primping sessions that she had become known for between the two of them. They both stood in the mirror on opposite sides of the bathroom, both perfecting the image they wanted their peers to see, not as much saying a word to each other. Girls had come in and out of the bathroom, some timid to see the two most popular girls in the restroom, while there were the few that weren't afraid to say hello to Hanna and make conversation with her. Looking on with intrigue, Mona couldn't help but relish in the fact that Hanna still had it, in her best day, Hanna could replace Alison in a heart beat was all she thought looking on that reinvention product that was Hefty Hanna to The Hanna Marin.

"You still got it" Mona laughed to herself as Hanna looked at her confusedly

"What are you talking about?" Hanna asked

"You still manage to be the it girl even though these days you don't seem to care about that fact" Mona replied

"Oh, God. Spare me with the hostile takeover messages Mona" Hanna sighed annoyed with the usual topic between the two

"I'm being serious Hanna. You've been spending a lot of time with Hermes and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't afraid for you" Mona said

"First of all, his name is Lucas. Second, you don't need to worry about me" Hanna corrected her

"I don't need to worry? Hanna, we're best friends or at least I still think we are. What the hell is going on with you?" Mona asked

"I'm growing up. I don't have time to sit around worrying about if I'm still Queen Bee, it's a twenty four seven job that I'm not ready for" Hanna said

"You didn't have a problem with it before" Mona pointed out

"Yeah, well things have changed" Hanna said

"More like you've changed. Things are still the same, its you that's different" Mona said

"So I change all of sudden because of who I hang out with?" Hanna asked

"There were rumors that said you and Lucas were kissing at the Carnival, I suspect they're true" Mona said putting much emphasis on saying Lucas's name to Hanna

"What's the big deal? It's my life" Hanna reasoned

"Yeah, its your life that your ruining. Look I get the fact that he probably makes you feel good about yourself, but how long will that last until you finally start to get it?" Mona asked as she moved closer towards Hanna "Think Senior year, while your wanting to be prom queen and back to back homecoming queen, all he'll want to do is worry about S.A.T. scores and college applications" she said

"So?" Hanna replied "He's into school, so what? Is there some rule that I'm suppose to date dumb jocks?" she asked

"No, you date your kind. That's a given rule, and he isn't it. No matter how much fun you have with him, he will always expect you to see what we value and look forward to is just dumb and silly" Mona said

"Lucas isn't like that" Hanna replied

"For now anyways" Mona sighed "You remember how Alison use to treat us, especially you. She used every chance she could to prove that she was the it girl and that every other girl was nothing compared to her. Her little covenant was just protection to keep her ego up that she could bend you guys any shape or form she saw fit. Well now is your chance to be Alison" she told her

"I'm not trying to be Alison" Hanna replied sternly

"Keep telling yourself that because your actions say otherwise, and I know you well enough to know that's all you ever wanted. Hell a part of me thought you had finally had enough and killed the bitch" Mona said realizing that she was getting through to Hanna at the mention of Alison's name and the horror that she put them both through so that their sole mission was to rule Rosewood High School "I think we should catch up. I'll call you later" she said before she grabbed Hanna's phone

"Mona what are you doing?" Hanna said not really putting up much of a fight

"How funny, I'm still number one in your calling circle" Mona laughed to herself giving Hanna a look out the corner of her eye "There's a reason for that" she said before she put Hanna's phone down and then left the bathroom

* * *

Coming into the empty classroom, Lucas laughed to himself to see that Mr. Smith was sitting in the back of the class on his computer playing video games when he really should have been grading papers instead of goofing around, but that's what made him unlike any other teacher was his uniqueness and his nerd like qualities as Lucas came to call it. Turning to see who was in the classroom, Mr. Smith smiled over at Lucas before he saved his game and shut the computer down before walking over to his desk while Lucas pulled up a seat over by his desk. Sifting through his desk drawers, Mr. Smith threw packets on top of packet out on his desk as all Lucas could do was look on at the orange envelopes wondering what exactly was going on with Mr. Smith that made him go on a cleaning spree of orange envelopes. Realizing that was all the envelopes that he had in his drawer, Mr. Smith leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms as he looked on at all the envelopes that seemed to take up more space on his desk than the ungraded papers before looking up at Lucas, who was eager to know what was going on.

"I say this as a person who cares about you, I just want to say that first" Mr. Smith said clearing the air first "What the hell is going on with you?" he asked angrily

"What do you mean?" Lucas asked not knowing what he was talking about

"I have received letters from countless school that we had sent out interest letters to that had you proposal, and you haven't manage to contact any of them" Mr. Smith said "I called because its been some time since I've talked to you, I thought that maybe you were still staying on top of things but they haven't heard squat from you" he said

"I haven't had time" Lucas replied

"Lucas, I know when you lying, so don't start now" Mr. Smith said "I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you let Winthrop go, when that was a guarantee ticket out of Rosewood, I mean that's what you still want, right?" he asked

"Yes" Lucas replied before Mr. Smith quickly spoke again

"Then why are you pussy footing around with your future?" Mr. Smith asked

"Because I'm not quite committed towards signing over my life just yet" Lucas said

"Lucas, you received a big fat check that states that a group of wealthy businessmen are behind your proposal, and you wasting their time is not what I thought you were going to do, or else I wouldn't have stuck my neck out for you" Mr. Smith said

"I never asked you to do that" Lucas replied "Look, I appreciate all you've done but I want to be… I want a teenager for once, I don't want to be the next big innovator right now, I'm sixteen and I want to do sixteen year old things" he said

"Like date girls like Hanna Marin?" Mr. Smith asked him

"Yes. Wait, how do you know about Hanna?" Lucas asked surprised to know that Mr. Smith knew about his new relationship status

"I have half of Rosewood top ten most popular kids in my class that said they saw you two making out at the Carnival" Mr. Smith stated

"So you easedrop on that?" Lucas asked

"I easedrop on the fact that I think the reason you gave up Winthrop was for this girl, and could possibly screw your future up over this girl" Mr. Smith said

"Okay, I'm pretty sure your crossing a line here. You don't know Hanna to just assume that she's not worth anything" Lucas said defensively

"I probably am, but I really don't think you'll go report me. Luke, I want you to be successful and anyone of these schools can get you to where you want to be, there not Winthrop but they will get you there" Mr. Smith said

"And I want that still, but I don't want to be consumed by it" Lucas replied

"Luke, if your not serious about this then I'm afraid I might have to take back the check" Mr. Smith sighed sadly "I hate this but I can't just let you have thousands of dollars to just see you not even take advantage of the opportunity you've been given" he said

"Then I'll give it back. I haven't cashed it, so its all there" Lucas replied sadly as Mr. Smith gathered all the envelopes on his desk and handed them over to Lucas

"Look through these, I mean literally spend an evening going through each of these schools, and if you still don't want this anymore then I'll take the check back because we both know funding will be hard to come by especially if you want to make it in anyone of these schools. If you truly, I mean really want this then we can start preparing the work" Mr. Smith said before Lucas reluctantly took the envelopes from him

"I have until the end of the week?" Lucas asked

"Yeah, that works" Mr. Smith sighed feeling as if Lucas wasn't taking him seriously about reading through the school programs before Lucas made his way over to the door "Hey, Luke" he called out to him before Lucas turned around to face him

"Yeah" Lucas replied

"Tell Hanna that she forgot to get her assignment. If she's going to pass the pop quiz on Friday she's going to need to practice these problems" Mr. Smith said as he walked over towards Lucas to hand him the assignment sheet as Lucas looked on at the paper sadly realizing he had been duped "I usually don't do this for people who make it a habit to skip my class for reapplying make up in the bathroom time, but you want me to give her shot, this is me giving it to her" he said before Lucas grabbed the paper and left

* * *

Making her way inside the café, Hanna sighed in annoyance to see that Aria was sitting at the table with Spencer and Emily. She had grown tired of being upset with Aria after going to the Carnival with Sean, but she still hated the fact that whenever she saw Aria's lips she could still see Sean attached to them. Deep down she really didn't care much now that she had Lucas in her life, and for the most part she found Lucas to be better a better kisser than Sean so it was like any trace of Sean, Hanna had in her heart was quickly erased by Lucas. But she couldn't let Aria know, she wanted her to fear crossing her in the future and if she gave in and forgave her then that would show weakness. Maybe Mona was right, maybe she did want to be like Alison, she didn't envy every aspect of Alison's demeanor but Alison always knew how to keep them in check. Spotting Hanna, Aria quickly said her good byes as Hanna walked over before she got up to grab her stuff.

"Sit down. I'm over the shift sharing. I can still ignore you and be in your presence" Hanna said stopping Aria from leaving as Aria cautiously put her stuff down before taking her seat while Emily and Spencer looked on impressed at the progress Hanna was making as Hanna grabbed her seat

"Making progress, that's something" Emily smiled

"Well chalk it up to Lucas having an effect on me" Hanna said

"So you two are a couple?" Spencer asked "I thought that was all a rumor because I know you went after him at the carnival, but you know how rumors are" she said

"Yes, the rumors are actually true. I made out with Lucas, and I have made out with him since then" Hanna smiled "I think I'm kind of addicted to his lips" she laughed as the girls couldn't help but laugh themselves

"I just didn't think you were official seeing as you didn't take the walk" Spencer said

"The walk?" Aria asked confused

"The walk that says we are out in the open. I should know, I did the walk and the announcement" Emily said referring to her public humiliation at the A sponsored party that they attended

"Not everyone has to do the walk, that's not the certified couple announcement" Hanna said

"This from the girl who literally draped herself all over Sean's arm when you got together. I think Mona took pictures every time you walked down the hall together" Spencer laughed

"And if I recall, you had one taped in your locker" Emily recounted remembering the picture Hanna had draped up in her locker

"Okay, well things change" Hanna said

"So let me get this straight, times change when your dating Lucas, but they weren't changing when you were with Sean?" Spencer asked

"Why is this pick on Hanna time?" Hanna asked

"We're just using your rules. Its not picking on you when they're your rules" Spencer replied

"Lucas and I know what we are to each other and that's what matters" Hanna said

"That's what I thought with Maya and me, but they kind of care when you view them as your secret spouse" Emily said

"Hello, I made out with him and apparently people are talking about it" Hanna said quickly trying to prove Emily's statement wrong

"You walked down the hall with me this morning Hanna" Emily said

"So what are you saying?" Hanna asked them

"Your afraid of losing Queen Bee now that you have the pauper on your arm" Spencer said

"Pauper? Wouldn't that be Alex?" Hanna asked

"Difference is, I have mine proudly sported on my arm, can't say the same for you" Spencer laughed knowing she had the upper hand on Hanna

"Lucas doesn't care about that stuff. We're together, he knows that and you guys know that, that's all that matters to me" Hanna said

"And why do I predict you giving me a late night call asking for advice?" Emily laughed

"Well that won't be happening because my relationship is perfect and I don't see it going south anytime soon" Hanna smiled proudly at them determined to prove them all wrong before all their cell phones began to vibrate. Looking at each other scared lifelessly as they all knew it would be a matter of time before it would start picking up again. Opening her cell phone, Aria looked down at the message in disbelief

"My four bitches, I sense a storm coming your way and I won't be responsible for the damage left behind, after they get through with you. But wait, I will. A" Aria read so that only the four of them could hear before they all looked at each other nervously

"What the hell could that mean?" Spencer asked

"Storm coming, it can't be an actual storm because we're in the summer months practically" Hanna replied

"Toby" Emily replied lifelessly "There was no clear proof that he was dead" she said

"You said you saw Jenna on the steps that day crying. His bike was wrecked" Aria replied

"But who knows what happened afterwards, she might have been crying that he wasn't dead" Hanna said "I know I'm about to if that's the case" she said

"Do you think he knows about the file?" Spencer asked

"To know that then I'd know the answer to the first question, is he alive?" Emily said

"So who? if we assume that this is a person, could it be?" Hanna asked

"I think this is the part where we have to wait and see" Aria said

"A always knows how to come back with a bang" Hanna sighed

* * *

Still shaken up by A's text message, Hanna couldn't fathom sleeping alone tonight in the house, especially with the cryptic beware tone it had to it. Climbing up the grapevine, she made a mental note to literally force Lucas down to the hardware store to fix the grapevine and print out instructions for Alton so he wouldn't mess it up again. Walking on the level part of the roof, she smiled as she saw Lucas sitting on his bed reading over what appeared to be brochures of something. Knocking on the door, Lucas tiredly made his way over to the door to open it for her then quickly made his way back over to his bed to continue reading. Expecting a kiss, Hanna found it weird that he didn't even greet her with a kiss, and somehow she knew that wasn't a good thing, but she didn't want to be quick to jump to conclusions especially when it came to Lucas. Taking a seat on the other side of his bed as she got ready for bed by putting her hair up in a ponytail, the two sat in silence as he just continued to read on not even acknowledging that she was really even there.

"Are you okay?" Hanna asked

"I don't know, should something be wrong with me?" Lucas asked quickly answering her question with a question of his own

"I don't know, I think that's why I asked what's wrong" Hanna said "Are you upset about something?" she asked

"You could say that" Lucas replied not tearing his attention away from the brochure while Hanna just sat confused as to what that was suppose to mean

"Okay, so I can conclude with your tone that your upset with me. What's wrong? I ask again" Hanna asked him

"Right now, I just really want to read my brochure. That's what is going on with me currently" Lucas replied before Hanna quickly grabbed the brochure in hands and took it away from him

"After we talk. What's up?" Hanna asked

"This morning you left me because you had to go with Emily. You needed her to help you for a pop quiz in Math today" Lucas brought up

"Yeah, I'm not great in math so I needed help" Hanna replied "Me not being smart is an issue?" she asked

"No, I don't doubt your knowledge" Lucas laughed sarcastically "How was that pop quiz you needed help with?" he asked

"It was hard, again I'm not great at Math" Hanna stated

"Wow! That makes it two times" Lucas laughed to himself

"Two times what? If you want to be cryptic than I can just go home" Hanna said

"Two times that you've lied to my face. I'm friends with your math teacher, he gave me this to give to you for missing class apparently for your make up run" Lucas said leaning over towards his back pack to pull out the piece of paper Mr. Smith gave him earlier to hand to her as she closed her eyes in disbelief "So what was this morning really about?" he asked her

"Nothing. I just…I wasn't ready" Hanna told him

"Ready to reveal that we're dating. So what was tomorrow's plan going to be? You'll meet me inside" Lucas asked

"No. Look I just didn't want to make a big deal out of us being together" Hanna said

"Because this would effect you" Lucas guessed

"Yes" Hanna quickly replied not realizing what she had just agreed to "Wait, that's not what I meant" she said

"Yeah, I think that's what you meant. I'm so stupid. I'm incredibly stupid to believe that your actually different, you like the same girl that told me we wouldn't have a shot in hell together" Lucas laughed to himself

"No. We're together, you're my boyfriend" Hanna said

"When its just us, but at school I'm Hermes, right? That's what I'm stereotyped as, and that's what you can't be bunched under, Herme's girlfriend" Lucas asked

"Okay, I never called you that. I'm not Alison" Hanna said

"Well you sure as hell still follow her rules" Lucas said

"What do you want then? Do you want me to get the school band and have them play here comes Lucas and Hanna. Are you with me because I'm popular because if you like me for me then you wouldn't care about us doing the walk?" Hanna asked

"Are you being serious right now? Just let me know before I answer because that was the dumbest thing you've said" Lucas replied "This from the girl I saw draped over a toilet puking her guts out, yeah, I'm doing it for status" he said

"How dare you?" Hanna replied angrily

"I like you! I like you! I like Hanna Marin. I like Hefty Hanna, and I accept every version of you, but question is do you accept me. Am I embarrassing to you?" Lucas asked

"Of course not" Hanna replied

"Then what's wrong with me that you would have to lie in order to get out of walking down a stupid hallway with me. Its not even about the hallway because I don't care about that, the part I care about is the part of you that is scared to have people know that I'm your boyfriend" Lucas said

"Luke" Hanna said before he quickly grabbed his pillow "Where are you going?" she asked as he made his way over to the door

"I know you hate sleeping at your house by yourself because your mom isn't home, so you can sleep in my bed, I'll sleep downstairs" Lucas said "My parents never come in my room so you don't have to worry about getting caught" he said

"So your not going to even be in the same room with me?" Hanna asked

"Why should I? you were afraid this morning, well I'm afraid tonight, that's fair, right?" Lucas said "Goodnight. See you at school" he said before he left the room

* * *

Throughout the night she tossed and turned unable to enjoy any ounce of two hour sleep that she had gotten, she thought she could at least sleep without him but that proved to be a dumb thought when she would drape her arm over to the side of her thinking he'd be there. She wanted badly to go downstairs to talk to him but giving herself up would have gotten him in more trouble, a part of her felt like she hadn't quite figured out the piece of her that questioned announcing to the world that she was dating him. By the time Hanna had gone back to her house to get ready for school, Lucas had all ready left for school. The point had been driven home when he had literally avoided her at school to the point where she wondered if they were even together anymore by the way he was acting. Not eager to go to Emily about it because she could all ready hear Emily in her head telling her she warned her about this, she wasn't ready yet to hear the lecture from either her or Spencer. Once the final bell rang, finally putting an end to math class, Hanna found it new to be leaving the actual classroom rather than the restroom this time. Just as she was about leave, Mr. Smith had called for her to stay behind. Remaining in her seat, Hanna waited for Mr. Smith to clean his chalk board before he finally turned his attention towards her.

"Good work on the assignment. Don't expect that again though" Mr. Smith told her

"Okay" Hanna replied

"Lucas is crazy about you" Mr. Smith said trying to wipe his hands of chalk

"Yeah, I think that inappropriate" Hanna said

"I get that a lot from Lucas, but I have a habit of calling it like I see it, especially when it comes to Lucas" Mr. Smith "He's a smart kid, insanely smart. I see myself in him so maybe that's why I care so much, and maybe that's why I don't want him to end up here like me" he said

"And I'm almost sure he won't. Is this why you asked me to stay?" Hanna asked

"I just want you to realize how much he's given up for you. He's got countless schools that he could choose from that will help develop the genius that is waiting to explode inside of him" Mr. Smith said

"And you think I'm holding him back from that? I don't force Lucas to do anything" Hanna said

"But you could, if you wanted to. Lucas gave up a shot at a great school, and I'm positive it was because of you" Mr. Smith said

"Yeah, I know. If I would have known then I wouldn't have let him do that" Hanna said "Regardless of what you think, I'm not like them" she said

"So you do know, that's good. Then you know that he's had a list full of schools that are potentially interested in him, but he's ignored every last one of them and I can't for the life of me know why he would do that. He even got a big gat check worth one hundred thousand dollars to make his proposal, which is what the average silver spoon gets in that school in order to make it" Mr. Smith said

"I didn't know that" Hanna replied

"I don't blame you, but I do think that he's putting stock in this relationship, and I just really hope your doing the same" Mr. Smith said

"I care a lot about him" Hanna said

"Good. Then be a friend to him, and don't let him give up something else before the next thing will be his dreams" Mr. Smith said

"Can I go?" Hanna asked as she got up from her seat

"Yeah, and for the record, your not like her" Mr. Smith said

"Like who?" Hanna asked

"Alison. I've had Alison in my class, and your nothing like her, in a good way. I happen to believe that we can shape our own paths, the moment we conform to someone else's path is when we lose our way, and I think your path is waiting to be traveled" Mr. Smith said making Hanna think long and hard over the course of action she's made in the past twenty four hours

"Can I ask you another question?" Hanna asked him

* * *

Yet another day of the same old, same old was all Lucas thought to himself as Alton and him got their usual laugh and stares as they walked over to their lockers. Lazily putting his books away, the last place that Lucas wanted to be was at school because at this point nothing about being surrounded by a bunch of jocks and conceited girls appealed to him. His relationship was like a one hit wonder musician, hot one day then fizzled out over time, literally. He had a check worth more than any amount of money he's ever seen in his life in his pocket ready to give back to Mr. Smith , which basically meant that he was kissing his future goodbye because he knew that he wouldn't have enough time to prepare at least a halfway decent proposal project for any of the schools he read about. So nothing was great at the moment with him, he was more than accepting of the fact that his life partner in this school was going to be Alton and maybe Reese, when she would give up the Spencer obsession.

"So is the Wii going to be fired up for marathon night?" Alton asked

"I don't feel like playing tonight" Lucas replied sadly

"Why? I look forward to this, that's all I have looked forward to" Alton said

"I just don't feel like it, plus you always lose" Lucas said

"Oh, I'm sorry I'm not as good as Hanna" Alton replied "What's up with you two?" he asked

"I really don't feel like talking about that right now" Lucas replied

"So basically we're acting out the Penny and Leonard break up on The Big Bang Theory?" Alton asked "This is what it feels like because your boring me to death right now" he said

"Sounds suitable. Penny did rip Leonard's heart out, and well I basically feel the same way, so yeah" Lucas said as the whispers in the hallway began to increase

"What's going on now? We all ready walked down the hallway, well not all of it. That reminds me, did you bring the shower cap? I got a slushy thrown at me, Glee has inspired a new form of torture" Alton asked as Lucas pulled out the shower cap out of his back pack

"This is crazy, why do you need the shower cap?" Lucas asked as he handed the shower cap to him

"Slushy. In face. I kind of don't want it in my hair" Alton replied not understanding why Lucas didn't understand the purpose of the shower cap

"That's great. I'm going to class" Lucas said as he began to walk down the hall before Alton stopped him

"I think you might want to see this" Alton smiled

"What?" Lucas asked

"Turn around" Alton said before Lucas turned around to see Hanna, Emily, Spencer, and Aria all walking down the hallway together. It was like an reenactment of Alison's covenant without Alison in the center, it came as no surprise to Lucas that Hanna was in the middle because that was what she longed for in the long haul. Not all that impressed to see the covenant make the signature entrance that had branded them as Alison's minions, Lucas was just about to turn around before he saw that on Hanna's t-shirt was writing. Looking closer, almost sure that is was probably some fashionista shirt she had to have, he soon saw Herme's Girl written on it the closer she got. The other girls stopped off at their lockers before Hanna continued to walk towards him, and before he knew it she pulled him into a kiss. Everyone nearly exploded at the official sighting of Hanna and Lucas together.

"What is this?" Lucas asked breaking the kiss

"This is me being your girlfriend and not caring what people think" Hanna said

"By writing Herme's Girl?" Lucas asked unable to stop his laughter

"I like" Alton smiled

"Thank you, I think" Hanna said to Alton

"So is that name going to forever stay with me?" Lucas asked

"I don't know, but I like Hermes, and I really like Lucas. Whichever name works for me as I long as I get to kiss either one" Hanna laughed

"How about the name Alton? Could you kiss that? Better yet, would Mona kiss that?" Alton asked

"Goodbye Alton" Hanna told him

"We'll discuss merchandising later my friend because Herme's is making a comeback" Alton said before he put on his shower cap and made his way down the hall

"What's with the shower cap?" Hanna asked

"It's a long story" Lucas laughed

"Also, I really like Jamestown" Hanna said "I read some of those brochures and I really like Jamestown, I can see you there" she said

"Wait, how did you get a hold of the brochures?" Lucas asked

"I finally learned my math teachers name, Mr. Smith, he kind of gave me some information about the schools so I read up on them. We have this weekend to figure out what school your going to be working towards, so Wii marathon is officially cancelled" Hanna said as she linked her hand with his as they walked down the hallway together

"I think that's a little late, I wouldn't be prepared in time" Lucas said

"Then I guess you have to work your ass off then, but luckily for you, I happen to be good at cramming" Hanna said "Its non negotiable, your doing it" she said

"Oh, so your one of those girlfriends, who controls the boyfriend" Lucas laughed as he pulled her closer to him as they walked down the hallway as if it were only them while in actuality everyone was in complete shock that the most popular girl in school was dating one of the least popular boys in school

"Yeah, how else will we work. Oh, and your not giving up the check" Hanna told him unable to control her laughter

"Anything else I should know about that I won't be able to do?" Lucas asked

"Uh, don't take the good pillow again" Hanna said thinking off the top of her head

"You know those brochures are long, and we have to seriously research the school" Lucas told her

"I have nothing but time" Hanna smiled as she leaned into kiss him on the cheek before pulling him into class behind her


	11. Great Sexpectations

**Chapter Eleven- Great Sexpectations**

She had come a long way, that's all Hanna could think of as she sat in her treatment session listening to one of the members talk about their success with the first stage of the program. Not quite finished with the program, but was proud enough to let herself realize that she was more than capable of addressing and dealing with her bulimia. The single fact that she was able to call it what it truly was in her heart, that alone was a big enough step for her. There had been countless times where she replayed over and over in her head the act of her forcing her finger down her throat and what she felt at that exact moment, she could remember those times where she ate and ate until she felt like her stomach would explode and how she would cry hysterically at the fact that she wasn't strong enough to resist, now that she thought back on those times she knew that she couldn't bare to be that girl again not when she had had a glimpse of what she could be. Feeling her heart cry out to other members who felt her same emotions when they described completing the action, and what it felt like, she for once in her life felt safe to not that this wasn't a battle that only she fought, there were others just like her wanting to know what inside themselves could make them turn so dark. Gripping on tight to his hand, Hanna was relieved to know that Lucas was with her and was very supportive of her progress whether it be good or bad, all he did was support and be there for her, and that alone was extraordinary in her eyes. Once the meeting was over they walked down the hall hand in hand on their way out to the car.

"So congratulations, you have moved on to the next stage" Lucas smiled as he twirled her around in front of him

"Thank you. Who would have ever thought that I'd actually like be into this program. I have to admit that I didn't give it a chance at first but hearing what Lucy, Dale, and everyone else went through in those meetings, it just helps me know that I'm not alone" Hanna said "Is that stupid?" she asked as she leaned up against the passenger side of Lucas's car before he trapped her within arms so that he could lean in and kiss her softly

"Nothing you feel is stupid, its completely valid" Lucas smiled "I wish you'd stop thinking like that, your so much more than you give yourself credit for" he said rubbing his nose up against hers

"Why do you believe I can do no wrong?" Hanna asked as there eyes locked on each other

"I don't know, I like to believe the best in people" Lucas smiled making her laugh at his politically correct answer before she pulled his face towards her to kiss him. Laughing and kissing each other the two were caught up in their own little world acting as if they were newlyweds of dating before they were ripped from their fantasy world by the loud rocking of a van off in the corner of the parking lot. Looking over, they couldn't help but laugh at how wrong it seemed to have sex in a parking lot.

"And that just killed the mood" Hanna said as she got in the car while Lucas walked over to his side and got in before turning on the engine to pull out of the parking lot

"I guess the bed is not as traditional anymore" Lucas said

"Would you consider bed or somewhere else?" Hanna asked catching Lucas off guard with the question

"Uh, I don't know. I really haven't thought about it" Lucas laughed

"C'mon, every guy thinks about it" Hanna replied

"I don't know. I guess wherever" Lucas said "I mean I would exactly want to in a parking lot, but if the mood is right then you can't really control it" he said

"But what if the mood hits in the parking lot?" Hanna asked

"Are we seriously talking about this? I feel like whatever answer I give is going to make me look like a pig" Lucas laughed

"This is your chance to tell you sexual fantasies without being penalized" Hanna said

"Okay, yes. I would love to have sex in a parking lot" Lucas replied

"Wow! You envied the couple getting it on in the van, interesting" Hanna laughed

"No, I did not. Look I respect whatever the girl wants to do or wherever the girl chooses to do it at" Lucas smiled

"So what exactly do you expect from sex?" Hanna asked

"Expect? Where are all these questions coming from?" Lucas asked

"We should talk about sex. You were clearly interested in having sex with Reese, and I guess a part of me wonders were you that eager to just do it all ready or were you into the thought of having sex" Hanna said

"Why do I feel like Reese is going to be a reoccurring theme with us? It was a pact and nothing more" Lucas said

"I know there was nothing more. I'm talking about just the sex part, the part where you get your kicks" Hanna said

"No, I don't crave sex where I just do it with anyone. I can control my hormones, in fact I thought the prospects of me having sex would happen much later in life seeing as I'm not ranked high on the totem poll at school" Lucas replied "And you? What is your whole sexual preference?" he asked

"I kind of always figured it was up to the guy, like he would just grab and throw you down then make mad passionate love" Hanna said

"I think that would be constituted as rape if it happens like that" Lucas replied

"You know what I mean, like how they are in the movies" Hanna said

"You mentioned before that you wanted to have sex and Sean didn't, is that still the same?" Lucas asked

"I can't really say that I would wait, but I think I'm more than ready at this point. For Sean and I, it felt like it was all about me trying to convince him. I felt like I was literally researching every means possible to get him to finally agree to have sex" Hanna said

"What kind of research?" Lucas asked "Like sex toys and all that?" he asked

"Just random stuff to get him in the mood" Hanna said

"Okay, that makes me a little nervous" Lucas laughed "Are you still interested in the things you've researched for when you finally are able to implement them?" he asked her

"Some things were excessive but I think there were a few things I would like to try" Hanna laughed "This is starting to sound awkward now. Its like one big reveal conversation going on, what's your fantasy type of thing" she said

"Hey, you started it" Lucas said "But I think its cool that we can talk about it and feel secure about what we want from each other" he said

"And what exactly do we want from each other?" Hanna asked

"I just want you to feel comfortable and know that I'm happy with you. I'm more than happy to wait, and will continue to wait" Lucas said grabbing on to her hand to place a kiss on it before flashing his usual million dollar smile that made her weak in the knees

"Yeah, I'm happy that we're not about sex or expect it this early from each other. All right, so consider this our sex talk. We both are comfortable with where we stand when it comes to sex" Hanna declared

"Whenever the time is right" Lucas smiled

"Whenever the time is right" Hanna said trying to convince herself that he truly meant that and wasn't secretly wanting to have sex. Sometimes she felt as if she needed to get some sort a device where she could read his thoughts and know what he was thinking that way she wouldn't have to second guess everything she felt. He was the first guy that ever truly made her nervous and could impact her emotions just by the flash of a smile.

* * *

Walking along the abandoned road, each of the girls carried their flashlights close as they checked for the address that was written down on the small piece of paper that Spencer carried in her hands. Being a Hasting had a few perks in Rosewood, and with Spencer's mom being a judge, Spencer was able to get access to confidential hospital and police records that documented the accident and Jenna's statement that were all in the file. The girls found it to be interesting that Toby was indeed alive but nothing stated how severe the accident was. On a loose piece of paper in the file there was an address that Emily had researched to find that it was an old abandoned hospital that was shut down twenty years ago. Figuring that Toby was probably stowed away at this address they each decided that it would be best to go to the source and see what he knew about the night Alison had disappeared, they knew that Toby wouldn't exactly open up to anyone except Emily, so in a desperate plea they wanted Emily to come across that she had searched high and low to find Toby to make things right so he would open up about that night like he had intended to the night of Homecoming. In her statement, Jenna had said that Toby liked to ride his bike out on an abandoned road on the outskirts of Rosewood, she said that he always viewed it as him finally leaving Rosewood then after hours or so returning home in hopes that things would be different, of course none of the girls truly understood the sentimental value of riding on abandoned roads, but since it was so warped to them they thought they'd be able to get some clue as to Toby's whereabouts and if the location of this hospital was one of the stops he had made that night. On the drive over, they all seemed okay but once night fell upon them it all became so surreal as to why they were out here in the first place. Splitting up into two pairs with Spencer and Aria together while Hanna and Emily were together.

"So how exactly are we suppose to greet Toby if we find him? How are you doing and are you the jackass that's been threatening us. I really don't see him opening up after that" Hanna said

"Believe me seeing Toby is going to be nerve racking for me more than anyone" Emily sighed in frustration while Hanna couldn't help but feel for Emily as she did have the biggest task of trying to get Toby to confide in her once again

"Does Maya know that your going to see Toby?" Hanna asked her

"No, I told her we were all doing some bonding trip that we use to do with Alison every year. I really hate lying to her" Emily said "Did you tell Lucas about tramping through the outskirts in search for a possible stalker?" she asked

"That statement in itself is something I wouldn't tell him. I told him it was a girls night out, but I do hope we find Toby or whatever so I can at least snuggle with him" Hanna said as Emily couldn't help but laugh at how attached Hanna seemed to Lucas, it was a complete turn around from Sean

"Snuggle, so I take it you two are active now?" Emily asked

"No, we are not active. We're perfectly happy just sleeping with each other" Hanna said proudly realizing that it still sounded bad "Okay, lets forget I said that" she said

"Do you ever think we'll be done with A? the more we get sucked into this world, the more I feel like we get caught up in a mess we can't find our way out of" Emily said

"It does tend to feel like that. Believe me, I wish that we could take back what happened that night because then we could be normal and not have to be out at night time looking for abandoned hospitals" Hanna said

"The funny thing is that A did bring us all back together, makes me wonder if we would have continued not talking if it hadn't been for A" Emily said

"Who knows. I would love to lie and say that we would have found our way back to each other but it was three years, and lot happened in those three years. Our secrets developed and here we are" Hanna said

"You always know how to sink reality in" Emily said

"Hey, reality helps kill the mirage" Hanna said as they began to meet up with Spencer and Aria

"Anything?" Aria asked

"No, nothing" Hanna replied as they all just looked at each other like what were they suppose to do now before Emily had shines a light on a white trespassing sign

"This looks like something was once here or property of some sort" Emily said as they all walked further down the passageway and saw an old beat up white shack

"Could this be it?" Aria asked confused as Spencer double checked the address

"There is no way that can even be considered a hospital" Hanna said "It looks like it needs a hospital than it being a hospital" she said as Spencer walked past the gates over towards the front of the shack with the rest of the girl close behind. Dusting off an old address box, Spencer quickly recognized the address

"This is it. This is the hospital" Spencer said looking over at the girls as they each ventured out to look over the house

"Spencer there is no way Toby is in here. Nothing could survive here" Aria said

"Then what? There has got to be a reason why that address was in the file" Hanna said

"What if this was a hideout house or something for Toby" Emily suggested

"Well he picked a good place to hideout because I sure as hell wouldn't peg him to live here, but then again this is Toby, we're talking about" Hanna said

"So another dead end, nothing" Spencer said frustrated

* * *

Since getting together with Hanna, Lucas had spent possibly every second of the day with her, but he loved that it wasn't about them being boyfriend and girlfriend, it was just fun being around her and bickering about stuff in which he got to see her passion and her desire for the things she cared about. Though she was off away with her friends, he did miss her like crazy but he did miss hanging out with Alton. Alton was unlike any person he had ever known so it was always memorable whenever the two hung out because Alton always made you feel a little bit sure that your on track to not being as desperate as one may think. Holding their beloved event that they always had once a month ever since they were little kids with whatever game console Lucas had, they had a marathon game night. It always went the same way where Alton would be somewhat competitive match in the beginning but it soon faded once Lucas started beating him silly.

"And I think I'm Wii burned out" Lucas declared as he flopped back on his bed

"Are you serious? We've gone into the morning with marathon games" Alton protested "Your getting weak my friend" he said

"Al, I'm beating you. I think I can only handle so many non competitive games" Lucas laughed

"I'm getting better, you have to admit that" Alton said

"Yes, I do have to give you that" Lucas lied just wanting to make his friend happy "So that talk with Mr. Smith wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. We're actually working on my project" he mentioned

"Really? Will you be done in time?" Alton asked

"Hopefully, Hanna won't accept not completing the project, it's a must in her book" Lucas smiled "Sorry, I know you hate hearing about her every second of the day" he quickly apologized

"I live vicariously through you. I just want the favor returned for when Mona and I finally make our relationship official" Alton said

"What exactly do you see in Mona? She's pure evil" Lucas said

"I thought you thought Alison was pure evil?" Alton asked

"Well Mona is doing a hell of a job trying to compete for that spot. So what is it? What's the Mona appeal?" Lucas asked

"I just think she's sexy as hell" Alton said

"And?" Lucas asked

"She's extremely sexy at night" Alton replied not thinking he needed to add anything else to the statement "I imagine my first time or my many times and I just see her" he said

"That's disgusting in a perverted way" Lucas said

"I know I'll never have a shot with her but she's like my real life Jenna Jameson, where she's so unattainable but that only increases the fantasy" Alton said with the biggest of smiles on his face "Remind me to show you my folder, found some awesome stuff on the internet that will help you see my perspective. I think I put it under your bed if you wanted to take a quick glance at what your missing out on what I think is a pretty good time" he laughed

"So is this a sexual crush?" Lucas asked ignoring what Alton thought was a good time

"No, its love" Alton replied as Lucas couldn't help but laugh

"How is it love when you just professed that you see your first time with her because she's your Jenna" Lucas said

"So? Hanna was your Jenna Jameson" Alton pointed out

"No, Hanna was my first crush. Big difference in that" Lucas said

"Speaking of all this sex talk. I bought you something, for your new manhood" Alton said pulling out a dvd out of his backpack before handing it to Lucas with a note that said watch me, repeatedly on it

"What is this?" Lucas asked

"Porn. I got a bootleg from a friend and its supposed to be good" Alton said

"And you thought I'd want this?" Lucas asked "Why did you possibly think I would want this?" he asked him

"Because you have to man up. Your dating one of the most popular girls, who happens to be up for the plucking when it comes to all of the guys in our class" Alton said "Hanna is going to expect certain things and when you guys finally start to, you have to be ready to" he said

"That's stupid. Hanna isn't sex obsessed" Lucas said

"Every girl that's popular is sex obsessed. Its like on the top things they care about, its makeup, fashion, and sex" Alton said

"And you think my girlfriend cares about this stuff?" Lucas asked as he looked at the title of the dvd movie "Hard Cowboys" he read the title of the movie

"Its unlike any of the after night flicks we've watched. This will prep you and make you a sex God in her eyes" Alton praised as Lucas threw the dvd on top of the entertainment set

"Yeah, well I'm not about to jerk off to porn. That's weird and its just weird. There's no connection to the women who are bouncing everywhere" Lucas said realizing that what he said sounded so wrong "Connection as in emotional" he quickly added

"No you meant the other hi-speed connection" Alton laughed "It never hurts to learn a few things because lets say you and Hanna decide its time, do you want to disappoint her? I guarantee you there is a guy in Rosewood High who is more than willing to do the service she is seeking" he said

"Well she said she had been researching, but that could have been about health issues or something like risk of pregnancy or anything of that sort" Lucas said

"If she was researching that she wouldn't be trying to have sex because she'd scare herself out of it. It's like wanting a child but you watch birthing videos in 3D" Alton reasoned "If she's researching its because she's narrowing down what she feels is the perfect sexual experience" he said

"No. I refuse to jump to that automatic conclusion just yet" Lucas shook his head in disbelief

"Dude, she's researching, that's all you need to know that you need to be studying" Alton said

"And you think Hard Cowboys is going to teach me all that I need to know?" Lucas laughed

"It'll at least you headed in the right direction" Alton said

"Yeah, well I think I'm going to believe that she's not ready and wants to wait, like we discussed" Lucas said standing by there conversation earlier "We talked about it" he said

"Okay, don't say I didn't warn you" Alton said

* * *

By the time Hanna had made it in from the Toby search it would have been too late to go over to Lucas's house. She didn't have time to miss sleeping next to Lucas because by the time she got in her bed, she immediately went to sleep like she hadn't slept in days or something. When morning had come, she realized she had enough time to go over to his house and at least have some of her snuggle time with him, so she hurriedly got dress and made her way over to his house. Climbing the grapevine, she had learned the anatomy of the grapevine so that she would avoid the spots where she would get hung up in on the climb up, happy that he left the door cracked she immediately let herself in to see that he wasn't in the room. Figuring that he was probably downstairs eating his usual bowl of cereal with his mom, Hanna got comfortable upstairs before she heard his cell phone vibrating. Scanning the room to see where the vibration was coming from, she finally found his cell phone on his entertainment set. Checking the phone she couldn't figure out who was calling him so she just made a mental note to tell him that he had a missed call, well on her way to sit back down she quickly glanced over a dvd with a yellow post it attached to it saying watch repeatedly. Picking up the dvd she became alarmed by what she read as the title of the movie.

"Hard Cowboys?" Hanna read to herself "Watch repeatedly" she said before she quickly heard the door open before she tossed it aside. Surprised to see Hanna in his room, Lucas walked over pulling her into a warm embrace immediately liked he had spent days away from her

"Missed you last night" Lucas said as he kissed her neck before looking at her not letting her go out of his embrace

"Yeah, we got in a little late. I didn't want to disturb you" Hanna said

"Oh, well I tried waiting up but I eventually fell asleep" Lucas said

"I'm sorry I didn't text you, I was just tired" Hanna said

"No that's fine, perfectly understandable" Lucas smiled "So what's on your schedule today? I was hoping we could go down to the lake and go swimming or something" he suggested but all Hanna kept thinking about was the dvd she saw before he came in

"Oh, that sounds good, but I promised Emily that we'd hang out" Hanna said

"Okay, well I guess I'll just call Alton up and go pick up some movies" Lucas said as once again Hanna had a flash back to the porno dvd

"What kind of movies?" Hanna asked quickly

"Probably something gritty, and jaw dropping. You know something I haven't seen before" Lucas smiled as Hanna was secretly freaking out

"You shouldn't watch something that excites you because then nothing else will measure up after that" Hanna suggested

" I want to get what I paid for, and enjoyment is what I aim for when I rent" Lucas said "

"Shouldn't you be reading more brochures or something educational instead of movies?" Hanna asked

"I'm brochure out. Plus I think watching a movie will relieve me a bit and take away some of this tension I have built up, I was hoping you'd be able to but since you have plans with Emily" Lucas said

"But I thought you'd wait for me, you know, so you don't have to put all your hopes in a movie" Hanna reasoned

"Since your going to be hanging out with your friends, watching a movie is going to take my mind off of you, then we can just hang out tonight" Lucas said as Hanna became more and more freaked out by the minute thinking about her boyfriend pleasuring himself all afternoon long all because she wouldn't

"Yeah, I think I should go" Hanna said quickly walking over to the window "I'll call you tonight" she said making her quick exit out as he stood there speechless as to her immediate exit

* * *

Rushing immediately over to Emily's house, all Hanna kept thinking about was scenes from Hard Cowboys and just imaging raw images of women being all bouncy and oiled to where she felt like she was going to throw up at the image. In her mind she knew it was normal for boys to watch porn, in fact the whole time she was trying to get Sean in the mood for sex, she had honestly hoped he was watching porn, but Lucas, she never picture him doing that. Maybe he did want sex from her, maybe he felt like he had to pleasure himself through porn because she wasn't going to, a range of emotions went through her head and she couldn't narrow down one single thought that made sense at the moment not with Hard Cowboys fresh in her head. Greeting Emily's parents as she entered the house, Emily came downstairs surprised to see Hanna but knew if she had made a bee line over to her house it had to be serious. The girls made their polite conversation with Emily's parents, but once they had fulfilled their civilized young women talk they wasted no time heading up to Emily's room. Closing the door behind her, Emily took a seat on her bed while Hanna paced the floor, and just by that alone she knew this was going to be interesting.

"Lucas is into porn" Hanna stated

"Aren't all boys. I know Ben was" Emily replied

"No, I think this is different. On this dvd it said watch repeatedly like he needed to satisfy an urge or something. Why else would he have to watch repeatedly?" Hanna asked

"What did he say?" Emily asked

"I'm not about to talk to him about why he needs to abuse little Lucas repeatedly" Hanna said as Emily couldn't help but laughed just as the door opened and in walked Spencer and Aria with coffee in hand. Taking their usual seats in Emily's room, Hanna began to wonder why it felt like a Toby meeting was about to take place

"What's going on?" Spencer asked as she picked at her muffin while Emily leaned over to grab a piece for herself

"Lucas is into porn" Emily updated them

"Aren't all guys" Aria said

"Not my boyfriend" Hanna replied quickly "He can't be" she said

"Why?" Spencer asked

"Because he's suppose to be unlike all the other guys and appreciate a girls needs" Hanna said

"Did you want to have sex with Sean?" Emily asked her

"That was different" Hanna said

"How?" Spencer asked

"Because I was trying to make the relationship work, now I'm glad I didn't give it up" Hanna said

"So what's the big deal with Lucas looking at porn?" Spencer asked

"Because if Lucas is watching porn after I'm sure you told him that you wanted to wait, that means Lucas wants to and will eventually want to have sex with Hanna" Aria spoke nervously not wanting to over step the thin line that she was all ready on with Hanna

"I thought you two talked about it?" Emily asked

"We did, and he said he was fine with waiting. But what if while he's waiting, he's secretly expecting me to be some sex pro" Hanna said

"Like Jenna Jameson" Emily smiled finding it funny that there was such a thing as a sex pro

"Is that like your lesbian crush?" Spencer asked

"No, I just thought Jenna Jameson when I heard sex pro for some reason" Emily replied trying to play off her enthusiasm that she knew of someone current other than what her parents wanted her to know about Hollywood

"Well this is going to be shocking, coming from me and all. What if you actually watched a tape?" Spencer asked

"For what?" Aria asked confused as to how that would help the now crisis

"Because then Hanna will see how stupid these women look. Half the time what they fake that turns them on really doesn't, and the dialogue horrible" Spencer said

"Have you watched one?" Emily asked with the hugest smile on her face at the prospect of Spencer Hasting spending late hours watching skin flicks

"I have seen one, but its not as bad as you think" Spencer said

"So what just use the porn video as a teaching tool or something?" Hanna asked

"No, use it as a tool to realize that its pure fiction what's on these tapes. Its to create a fantasy that will probably never happen, its sensationalized like everything is in film" Spencer said

"And count on Spencer to give the traditional educated yet political view" Aria laughed

"Maybe Spencer is right, maybe I'm freaking out over nothing. Maybe he's watching because he's a guy and that's what they do, it could have nothing to do with me" Hanna reasoned with herself

"Your worrying for nothing" Emily reassured her friend

* * *

After going to the movie store, Lucas had called up Alton and Reese to come over to watch movies. While cleaning up his room he stumbled upon the dvd Alton had given him last night, and the thought did run across his mind to watch just to see what exactly made porn the excellent teacher for first timers, but he knew he couldn't or at least feel comfortable with his parents in the house. Deciding to finally just throw the dvd away, Lucas just wanted to get the whole sex topic off his brain because there was no need to even worry. Though he would be lying if the thought didn't cross his mind that Hanna was researching, I mean what exactly did she need to research when it comes to sex, all in all it was a pretty simple concept he thought. Just as he got lost in thought his cell phone began to ring, looking over at the phone he quickly saw that it was Hanna calling.

"Hey" Lucas said answering the phone

"Are you busy?" Hanna asked

"No, I was just cleaning up" Lucas replied

"You made a mess" Hanna shaking her head in disbelief that he got that turned on by the video that he just couldn't control himself "Do you feel better?" she asked not knowing what to ask after hearing that he simply couldn't control himself

"Yeah, I mean I try to stay neat, but what's the point" Lucas sighed as he took a seat on the edge of his bed "What's up? Are things all right?" he asked

"Yeah, things are fine. I was just calling to see if I left my folder over at your house. I was suppose to bring it over so Emily and I could study" Hanna said

"Uh, where did you leave it?" Lucas asked getting up to scan the room for her folder

"I think its under your bed. I remember looking through it when we were reading your brochures" Hanna said

"Oh, okay" Lucas said as he got on his knees to look under the floor to find her pink folder. Just as he picked it up to put on the bed papers fell out of the folder back onto the floor, reaching down to pick up the papers he quickly saw that it countless printed out papers on sexual fetishes. Seeing this made him freak out like crazy, he never knew exactly what she was researching but now it made sense

"Did you find it?" Hanna asked

"Yeah, I found all ninety - nine positions worth of them" Lucas said as he flipped through the pages to see the chart of different sexual positions

"Cool. We need it for class" Hanna said "I'll just get it tonight then, I was really hoping to add to my research" she sighed

"What more did you need to add? It was ninety nine" Lucas said in disbelief

"Oh, there's more. I just haven't got what I need yet, but I'll probably just narrow it down" Hanna replied

"How many are you researching?" Lucas asked

"I don't know, I want something that at least gets me excited, I hate boring" Hanna said "I figure if I have to suffer through doing it then I should at least have fun while I'm doing it" she said

"Well ninety-nine gives you a good starting point" Lucas said

"Did you read the thing about the rabbits? That sounds interesting, I was thinking about doing that one" Hanna said

"Rabbits? Isn't that unsanitary?" Lucas asked confused how rabbits were considered fun to have during foreplay or sex for that matter

"Yeah, I just always thought it'd be interesting to do it on a rabbit" Hanna said

"Its interesting all right" Lucas said

"Oh, well I have to go. I'll see you tonight. Maybe you could look over a few that interest you and you could help me. You know since your waiting for me" Hanna laughed "See you later" she said before she hung up the phone leaving Lucas speechless before Alton and Reese made their way inside his room to see Lucas look like he had seen a ghost or something

"What's wrong with you?" Reese asked

"I think I'm going to regret asking this but I have no other choice" Lucas said realizing that this was his only option as he laid his eyes on Alton "I need you to teach me everything you know about you know" he said not wanting to come out with the topic with Reese in the room

"You know, what?" Alton asked

"You know" Lucas said eyeing him like he was suppose to know before Alton quickly caught on

"Oh" Alton said finally catching on "Yeah, you need to go home" he said quickly pushing Reese out the room as she began to protest

"What?" Reese ranted as Lucas quickly walked over to his entertainment set to pull out the Hard Cowboys to put in the dvd player while Alton was able to successfully get rid of Reese before walking over towards Lucas

"Are you sure?" Alton asked

"She's into rabbits" Lucas replied sadly like a pathtic school boy "I guess Bugs Bunny rocked her world as a kid" he said

"Oh, that's freaky" Alton said to himself at the thought of Hanna and rabbits in a round of foreplay "Giddy up cowboy" he said before he grabbed the dvd remote controller to hit the play button as they both took a seat on the edge of Lucas's bed. Five minutes into nothing but overly exaggerate moaning and groaning, Lucas looked over to see Alton's face plastered with the biggest of smiles that he'd ever seen. This was a new feat in their friendship, not one that he cared to look back on proudly. Before he could lower his head in shame the power quickly turned off, he didn't know whether to be happy or sad that just as the big finish was coming for the man, it came for his power in his house.

"Thank you God" Lucas prayed

"Aw, we were getting to the good part" Alton protested "Your parents pick a fine time not to pay the electric bill" he said

* * *

Even though she managed to talk it over with her friends, Hanna still worried that a piece of Lucas expected her to be like Jenna Jameson, she was popular and there was the belief that she was having sex, so it had to go hand in hand that those who were on the outside looking in probably thought the popular kids were sex Gods. On her way home she just kept thinking that maybe that's how sex was going to be for her regardless of the timing she was going to do it, that there was always going to be a certain expectation a girl was going to have to live up to, especially a girl like her. Making her way towards his house, she looked up at his window to see that his light was still turned on, maybe he was still practicing or maybe he wasn't, she said second guessing herself all the way over to the grapevine, but luckily she managed to text him and tell him that she was on her way over. There was no way of avoiding it, she need to confront this and possibly brush up on what she needed to know for when the time was right whether it be with Lucas or just any guy in her future, guys had needs and she needed to accept that. Coming into his room she quickly noticed the candles that he had around the room lit like it was once before with Reese when they were planning to consummate their sexual status that night. Just as she was quickly beginning to freak out over the fact that he suddenly went from watching porn to thinking he was going to get some tonight, Lucas made his way inside the room.

"You're here" Lucas said nervously "How was Emily's?" he asked her

"It was interesting. How was the movie?" Hanna asked scared to hear his answer

"Informative" Lucas replied "Are you hungry? We have leftovers, so if you want something to eat" he told her

"No, I'm good. What's all this?" Hanna asked

"The electric went out in the house" Lucas said as he walked over to take a seat on the bed

"That was convenient" Hanna said knowing that Lucas was lying through his teeth

"Yeah, I was actually thankful at one part in the day, but that's another story" Lucas replied "You want to sit or are you going to stand?" he asked

"Lucas, we can't have sex" Hanna quickly replied unable to hold it in anymore feeling like she was going to burst at any second "I know that I may seem like I want to because of my previous relationship with Sean, but I think that was a screwed up version of me that wanted to have sex. I've just learned to appreciate my body and myself for that matter, and I don't think right now is the time for me to add a whole new pressure of measuring up to your sexual fantasies" she said "Its too much and I promise you I will disappoint you" she added

"What are you talking about?" Lucas asked confused

"You want to have sex. I saw the Hard Cowboys and now the room full of candles" Hanna replied "I'm sorry, but I can't, not now" she cried as Lucas got up to walk over to the lamp that was on bedside table

"Hey, hey, look at this" Lucas said as he attempted to turn on his light before bending over to show her that the lamp was plugged in "Power is out, no tricks" he said as he walked over to her to pull her into a hug, lightly kissing her forehead

"I thought you wanted to have sex" Hanna said relieved that he was actually telling the truth as she burried her face in his chest "I feel like an idiot" she replied before he lead her over to the bed so that they could sit down

"The video was Alton's.." Lucas said before Hanna cut him off

"Enough said" Hanna replied quickly "Its all starting to make sense about Hard Cowboys" she laughed to herself

"But I watched it though because I know that you've been researching the different sexual positions. I guess a part of me wanted to be perfect for you as well" Lucas said as he played with her fingers so that it gave him an excuse to hang his head down "And I don't think I can be that guy for you" he said

"Sexual positions?" Hanna asked

"In your folder, I found the chart and the comment about the whole rabbits" Lucas told her "Not quite sure why you want to have sex on a rabbit but I'm not into that and I can't even pretend that turns me on" he said

"Lucas?" Hanna said confusedly "I don't have sex chart in my folder nor a sexual desire to have sex on a rabbit, how is that even possible?" she said

"It was in your folder" Lucas said as Hanna leaned over to look under the bed to grab her folder to show Lucas what she was talking about

"Oral presentation on things we find interesting about our world today" Hanna read her assignment paper to him before showing him her list of topics she found on the internet "I wanted to know what was interesting so I found this list, ninety-nine interesting things to talk about" she said

"Then who's folder was under my bed?" Lucas asked

"I'm pretty sure that it's the same person who brought over Hard Cowboys" Hanna laughed "Yeah, I think we're both looking bad in this one" she continued to laugh as Lucas couldn't help but join in on the laughter

"Even after we clearly talked about it too" Lucas said

"We're horrible, I mean really horrible at communicating the big topics" Hanna laughed

"Yeah, we gotta work on that" Lucas smiled "I don't want to cause you any stress, I know how hard its been for you dealing with even talking about your bulimia, so the last thing I want to do is make you feel like you have to measure up to anything" he told her continuing to play with her fingers

"I'm learning a lot about myself through this treatment, but you mean a lot to me, and although right now I'm not ready, I hope my first time will be with you" Hanna said softly as she leaned into kiss him softly on the lips

"If and when we decide to have sex, being with you makes it memorable enough for me" Lucas smiled

"You wearing a cowboy hat could make things interesting though" Hanna joked as the two laughed "Plus we haven't even had our first official date really to just jump into sex" she said

"I think we can change that" Lucas smiled as he got up to grab his ipod from his desk before putting one earbud in his ear as he extended his hand out to her

"What are you doing?" Hanna asked

"Well we don't have a home cooked meal, or the cheesecake that signifies our first date that I promised you that show you that its real, but this is something I'd definitely want to do with you on our first date, and since we don't have power this will have to do" Lucas said as she placed an earbud in her ear as she smiled at his song choice

"Island in the Sun. Weezer" Hanna smiled "Interesting choice" she said

"I just hit shuffle and that's what came up" Lucas laughed as he pulled her in as they swayed to the music

"No, I like it. Its fitting" Hanna smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck as she smiled at him. Swaying to the music, the two just enjoyed each other company like they always seemed to. She thought times before that she had perfect nights where things were just right, but nothing could top this, not by a long shot, and she'd never thought the boy she'd least expected would manage to be the one to steal her heart away


	12. Difference Between Friends and Family

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for the chapter being late, I was sick all weekend long and then my internet was down last night, so everything was going against me. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Please keep sending the reviews**

**Chapter Twelve- The Difference Between Friends and Family**

Her hands roamed all over his body as the two lay on her bed invading each other's personal space or what he called it, personal skin. Each kiss felt intoxicating as he knew how to separate the difference of a soft kiss and the animalistic kiss that let her know that he simply wanted her. Even though they agreed to wait to have sex, it was always a turn on to know that if the time were to come any day, he'd want her in the most passionate way possible, like she had dreamed up or seen in the movies. Running her fingers through his hair as he feverishly kissed the nape of her neck, God she loved his hair, it was the scent or the softness that made her just made it irresistible to her. Positioning himself on top of her so that he wasn't smashing her, he had to constantly remind himself that she was human and could feel things because he had gone in and out of a daze that he simply had to pleasure her, from this mindset he would have thought they were making love instead of making out, but her lips had the same feel as they lay in the sweetest embrace. Intertwining their fingers together, he slid their hands so that they were above her head, as they continued on with their feverish kisses that were quickly cut short by the vibrations of Lucas's cell phone. Realizing what that meant, Lucas reluctantly pulled away from her lips to grab his cell phone.

"I gotta go" Lucas sighed as he turned his alarm clock off

"Can't this be one session you miss with Mr. Smith, I mean I'm starting to think he's the other girl in this relationship" Hanna groaned as she rolled over onto her stomach to check her clock

"You wanted this, so I'm just obeying your original command" Lucas laughed as she gave him one of her looks "Hey, can't take it back now" he smiled

"I'm more than happy that your going to apply to all these countless brain schools that will just make you as rich as Bill Gates, but I just never thought our makeout sessions would have to get cut short because of it" Hanna laughed "But I'm very proud of you" she smiled as he leaned over to kiss her just as her cell phone began to ring

"If it wouldn't have been my phone it would have been yours" Lucas smiled as she grabbed her cell phone to see that it was her father that was calling her. Contemplating in her head to not answer, not wanting to hear his various excuses as to why he couldn't come see her because of some trivial wedding plans, Hanna was in no mood to play the good daughter

"Are you going to answer it?" Lucas asked

"No, its just my dad. Nothing important there" Hanna replied

"Hanna, answer it. It could be important" Lucas said

"I seriously doubt that it is" Hanna said before Lucas quickly grabbed her cell phone so fast that Hanna was unable to react and before she knew it she had the phone up against her ear, making sure to get out of hitting range, Lucas jumped off the bed

"Hanna" Hanna's father called out "Hanna" he continued to call out as Hanna looked at Lucas swearing revenge on him once she hung up from the phone

"Hey dad" Hanna said "What's up?" she asked

"There you are. I was wondering if you were going to take my call" Hanna's father laughed "So listen I have some good and bad news for you" he said preparing her like he usually did

"Give me the bad because I'm sure the good won't mean anything to me" Hanna said preparing herself mentally for another one of her dad's lame excuses as to why he couldn't bother to be a parent to her but could for Kate

"I won't be able to make it up to Rosewood next weekend to see you" Hanna's father said but it came as no surprise to Hanna, just disappointment

"I'd say I'm surprised, but I'm really not. What is it? Isabel wants to do more wedding planning and you can't get out of it?" Hanna asked

"No, it has nothing to do with Isabel. Do you even want to hear the good news?" Hanna's father asked her

"What would be the good news?" Hanna asked wondering when he would understand that be dumped by your own father wasn't leaving the possibility of anything else good happening in the foreseeable future

"I won't come next weekend because I'm coming this weekend" Hanna's father said catching Hanna off guard for a second

"What? Why this weekend? Wait, what news are you going to drop on me that has you rushing out to tell me?" Hanna asked

"Nothing. I just missed you and thought we should spend some time together so I bumped up my days so I could come sooner than later. That is good right?" Hanna's father asked her

"I don't know dad, the verdict is still out on that one" Hanna said cautiously

"Well, I'm looking forward to seeing you" Hanna's father replied happily "What do you want to do when I get there?" he asked

"I really don't know. Can we talk tomorrow about this?" Hanna said feeling unsure about how she was suppose to feel about her father's sudden attempt to want to see her. She'd love to feel like things were going right with him but deep down she knew there had to be a punch line somewhere

"Yeah, sure" Hanna's father said "I'll call tomorrow" he said

"Okay" Hanna said before she ended the phone call as she placed the phone down on her bed while Lucas cautiously observed her waiting to see what her reaction would be towards him

"So? How was it?" Lucas asked

"Huh?" Hanna asked looking towards Lucas, almost forgetting he was even there

"Your dad. How was talking to him?" Lucas asked

"It was to be expected, I guess. He's coming this weekend" Hanna sighed

"That's good, right?" Lucas asked

"I'm not sure" Hanna replied "I'm not sure" she said thinking to herself as Lucas sat beside her on the bed

"Hey, I'm sure things are going to be good. I mean things can't be that bad with your father" Lucas said as he leaned in to kiss her forehead "I bet you'll have a great time" he smiled as he looked at her

"Yeah, maybe" Hanna smiled weakly as she hugged him "You should go before Mr. Smith thinks I'm trying to hold you back" she replied softly

"Yeah, I should. I'll come by tonight, we can grab dinner or something" Lucas said

"Sounds good" Hanna smiled as he got up from the bed and pulled his keys out preparing to leave

* * *

After Lucas had left earlier that morning, Hanna had managed to do a few chores around the house before going back to her room to drift off to sleep. She wanted so bad to believe that her father was coming back into town to simply spend time with her but this part of her just felt like there was more to it, he was coming back for a reason other than her. In her mind she could still remember the day he walked out on her and her mother, it stays burned in her memory like it had been tattooed there for her always to look at and remember when she had hit her lowest point. Her parents hadn't been happy, she knew that, but they always made it work, they made it work on the holidays and birthdays, but one day it just all fell apart. For a period she believed it was her fault as to why they weren't together, which only added to her belief that she wasn't good enough and with Alison's constant badgering of her weight, that was all she needed to self destruct. Hearing shuffling sounds from downstairs, Hanna could hear that her mom had come home, but it was the other sounds that brought concern to her and her eyes fluttered open. Getting up from bed, she headed downstairs to see her mother directing what appeared to be a dining crew.

"What's going on?" Hanna asked her mother as she joined her in the kitchen

"I'm getting things ready for this weekend" Hanna's mother replied

"So I take it you've talked to dad" Hanna said rolling her eyes in annoyance that her father felt he was the king returning to the thrown so everyone had be on pins and needles for his return

"Yes, I have spoken to your father. He seems very excited to see you" Hanna's mother told her

"And that means we have to throw some dinner party for him because he's excited?" Hanna asked

"Your father's parents are coming into town as well this weekend, and the last thing I need is his mother critiquing my food" Hanna's mother said

"Wait, so grandma and grandpa are coming as well as dad. Now I know something is up? What's going on?" Hanna asked

"Nothing is going on. It's a simple get together" Hanna's mother said

"How is it a simple get together? We're going to all just magically come together all on account of me. Give me a break, I'm not stupid" Hanna said

"No one said you were stupid. Look take it however you want but this is going to happen, maybe you'd feel more comfortable if you invited Sean to dinner" Hanna's mother said

"Oh, wow! You really haven't been here too much" Hanna laughed

"Why? You and Sean fighting again?" Hanna's mother asked

"Yeah, we broke up. I'm dating someone new now" Hanna told her mother as she looked clueless as to what was going on with her daughter

"When?" Hanna's mother asked

"Well I've been dating Lucas for about a month now" Hanna said

"Who is Lucas?" Hanna's mother asked

"My boyfriend" Hanna quickly replied

"Well I guess you'll have to bring him so I can meet this boy that I'm just now hearing about" Hanna's mother told her

"I'm not even sure I want to show up to this, so why put Lucas through it" Hanna said

"Stop being melodramatic, everything is going to be fine" Hanna's mother replied

"That's what they all say" Hanna replied

* * *

Walking down the crowded streets of Downtown Rosewood, Lucas and Hanna each ate their ice cream cones as they walked hand in hand. Tired of analyzing everything, Hanna decided to just let the stress of her father drift away and just let things fall where they may, all she wanted to do was enjoy her time with Lucas. Like he had promised, Lucas took Hanna out to dinner, making sure to wine and dine her like a good boyfriend was suppose to for his girl, and knowing that she loved ice cream, he took her to her favorite ice cream parlor that was located in Downtown Rosewood. Downtown Rosewood at night was the most beautiful place a person could think of, it made the bigger cities pale in simplicity it had and the feel that all that was needed was good food and family in order to have a good time. Stopping off at a bench near the park, the two sat there, entangled in each other just laughing and smiling with each other. Torn from their fantasy world that just contained them, Emily and Maya had walked over to join them.

"Hey you two" Maya smiled as they sat across from Hanna and Lucas

"What are you guys up to?" Hanna said as she straightened up on the bench and laid her head on Lucas's shoulder

"We just came from seeing a movie and the cinema" Emily replied

"Anything good?" Hanna asked

"Just the black and whites, they're always classics" Maya replied

"It Happened One Night, that's my all time favorite" Lucas replied

"I knew there was something I liked about you. Yeah, its pretty funny" Maya said

"I'm all for the regular up to date movies" Hanna said "Like a Brad Pitt movie or Johnny Depp, anything having them shirtless is a great movie in my book" she laughed

"I think I could watch something along those lines" Emily laughed

"And there goes the point of beauty of cinema, all for a six pack" Lucas laughed

"A well toned six pack" Hanna added just wanting to tease him before she leaned up to kiss him on the cheek "So have you talked to Spencer or Aria?" she asked Emily

"Spencer is up to the same old, same old. Aria, is with her mom this weekend" Emily told Hanna

"Yeah, Spencer wasn't too thrilled going to that benefit Melissa was holding, but her parents are making her" Hanna sighed "I feel for Aria though, it sucks going through parental drama" she said

"Enough to burry the hatchet?" Emily asked

"Em, I'm slowly but surely getting over what she did, I'm making progress so give me some credit" Hanna said

"I will credit you for trying. I just wish things would get back to normal between you two, especially since she could probably get better advice from you about how to deal with parents who split up" Emily said

"Because I'm the poster child for parents who couldn't make it work. Way to make me feel special Em" Hanna laughed

"How long have you guys known each other exactly, I mean I remember all of you when Alison was alive, but what about before?" Lucas asked

"Ali pretty much brought us all together. We always use to think she created her own super group, with each of being so different" Hanna said

"Spencer was the brains. Aria was the rebel. I was the good girl. Hanna was the fashionista in waiting, and Ali was the leader" Emily told him

"So you all became close?" Lucas asked looking from Emily to Hanna

"We were inseparable. It was always the five of us" Hanna said

"Well seems like it'd be pretty hard to walk away from that, I mean being so close to someone and then just letting that person go" Maya said

"Yeah, its hard" Hanna replied thinking to herself about the times when it was just the five of them together

* * *

It was late at night at Lucas's house, when Hanna found herself unable to fall asleep as a range of thoughts ran through her mind from what to do about Aria and how she should feel about her father coming into town this evening, it was enough for her to stay well awake into the daytime because she had no hints of falling asleep. Coming from the restroom, nearly half asleep still, Lucas came back into his room to see that she was still awake as he joined her in the bed. Turning towards him, he rested his arm around her as he pulled her closer to him in the bed doing his best to stay awake so that he could keep her company. Laying there for what felt like an hours worth of silence, the two stared down at their fingers that intertwined wishing that everything outside of this relationship would be so easy like they seemed to be together.

"All right, what are you thinking about?" Lucas asked as a slight grin came out

"Brad Pitt. I was wondering how I was going to tell you that we're planning to runaway together" Hanna joked

"Good luck packing up all of those kids in your getaway car" Lucas replied getting a little fun out of the joke himself

"Oh, no. I forgot about all of the kids" Hanna laughed

"No, but seriously what's on your mind that has you up so early, and not snoring away?" Lucas asked

"Do I really snore?" Hanna asked turning to look at him

"Yes, you do, and stop deflecting" Lucas laughed as he hit her playfully on the arm "Tell me" he insisted

"I was just thinking about Aria, I guess. I really hate that she's disrupting my sleep" Hanna admitted

"I knew it" Lucas said

"So then why ask?" Hanna asked

"Are communication skills have sucked, need I remind you of our sex thoughts. I need to ask rather than assume clearly" Lucas said

"Aw, yes. Where I was the rabbit feign and you were porn obsessed, yeah, maybe we should just ask rather than assume. I want to still be pissed at her, but then the more and more I think about it, I'm not as pissed at her. I feel like its something else that stops me from wanting to forgive her" Hanna said

"Like?" Lucas asked

"I don't know. I just saw her with Sean and something triggered inside of me to want to choke or to never speak to her again, so I took the non violent approach" Hanna said

"No, you didn't, you put all your aggression on me that night. I remember because the bruises on my arm" Lucas said

"Oh, yeah. How romantic, the story of us" Hanna laughed

"Well lets pin point why Aria you just can't seem to forgive Aria" Lucas said as he sat up in the bed reaching over to his bedside table to grab his sketchpad as he began to organize a paper with two columns "Now I have to ask, does this have anything to do with hidden feelings about Sean?" he asked half hoping that she would immediately dispel this theory swiftly and quickly

"It had nothing to do with Sean" Hanna replied

"So we'll just separate up into plus and minus, good and bad. Give me a good about her and a bad" Lucas said

"She has good fashion sense" Hanna replied "That's a positive, even though I hate to admit" she told him as Lucas shook his head in disbelief that he was even writing this down

"Okay, bad?" Lucas asked

"She lied" Hanna said as Lucas wrote it down under the bad column

"Okay, good again?" Lucas asked her

"Good jewelry" Hanna replied

"Okay, this is going to take us awhile" Lucas laughed

It was approximately two hours later, when Lucas found himself hanging his head in complete and utter agony as he couldn't believe half the stuff Hanna was coming up for her list, Lucas did his best to be the supportive boyfriend but at this point but that seemed to leave once the second hour rolled around and no solution came around as to why Aria was on her bad list. At times when he felt they were tapping into something, she'd always come back with something that contradicted her own progress of this whole exercise. With half of his body hanging over the edge of the bed, he needed something to send blood rushing to his head because he knew if he were to sit perfectly still he would fall asleep on his babbling girlfriend. Pacing the floor, Hanna kept racking her head with reasons, spouting out whatever came to her mind until she noticed that Lucas was hanging from the bed like a monkey. Looking back at the clock she realized that she only had hours before her mom would be home, and she still had to go shopping with Lucas so that he would look his best for tonight. Going back over to the bed to sit back down.

"It was useless, wasn't it? Now I'm boring you" Hanna said as Lucas straightened up in the bed

"No. No, I'm sorry. I just….I just think your skirting around something that your afraid to tap into" Lucas said

"Like what?" Hanna asked

"I don't know and that's what you need to figure out, but bringing up stuff that doesn't pertain why you would honestly change the nature of your friendship with Aria isn't going to help" Lucas said

"So what? I just forgive her and deal later?" Hanna asked

"Deal now and forgive, but if there really isn't a reason to be mad then end the separation before you lose someone, whom I'm sure you still care about" Lucas said

"Okay, valid points. Well, since we're up…we should probably go over the do's and don't when it comes to my dad" Hanna smiled as Lucas groaned at they were going to be up longer rather than going back to sleep

"Isn't this the part where your suppose to encourage me to be myself?" Lucas asked

"This is my dad we're talking about, be yourself when he leaves town" Hanna said as she tossed the sketchpad over to Lucas who grabbed the pen and prepared to take notes as all Hanna could do was laugh at how she was torturing him

* * *

Looking in the mirror one last time, Hanna smoothed the few wrinkles that were in her dress knowing that there were only a certain amount of times she could iron the dress before it would eventually just burn up from all the heat. For a moment she looked in the mirror envisioning herself having a good time with her father, and in that moment she had agreed to just be happy for the evening, but with caution. Looking out the window over into Lucas's bedroom, she could see that he had all ready left his house since the lights were turned out in room, and before she knew it she could hear the doorbell ring from downstairs. Her mother had gone to answer the door before she could make it downstairs to greet him, holding a bouquet of flowers in his hand, Lucas greeted Hanna's mother before handing over the flowers to Hanna. Watching the two embrace like two kids in love, Hanna's mother ushered them into the kitchen to have a little talk with the new boyfriend before everyone would soon arrive. Taking a seat at the kitchen counter, it took ever fiber in Hanna's body to hold herself back from kissing him, but she knew her mom was probably going to interrogate him first.

"So its finally nice to meet you Lucas, I've finally learned of the new boyfriend" Hanna's mother said as the caterers shuffled around in the dining area causing her to give half her attention to him

"I would say its nice to meet you, but I think the wording would be to finally meet you. I actually live across the street from you" Lucas said

"Really? The Gottesman household?" Hanna's mother asked

"Yes" Lucas replied

"Oh, I remember your grandmother. She use to make the best pies, I would always buy her desserts and claim them as mine on Thanksgiving because as you see, I can't cook a lick" Hanna's mother smiled

"I knew those pies weren't yours" Hanna laughed "Lucky for you, Lucas can cook as well" she smiled proudly at him

"Do you?" Hanna's mother asked

"My grandma taught me everything, and practically forced me to know my way around a kitchen" Lucas said

"So you two have been dating for a month now?" Hanna's mother asked

"Like I told you, yes" Hanna replied

"I'm just testing Lucas, here. Always keep them on top of things when it comes to remembering the dates Hanna" Hanna's mother laughed

"No, I'm well aware of that we've been dating for a month" Lucas replied

"So what are your intentions with my daughter?" Hanna's mother asked as Hanna nearly choked on her glass of water when she asked him that question

"Uh, well I like your daughter a lot, and my intention is to be good to her" Lucas replied not hesitating one bit on answering the question

"Okay, these round of questions need to stop before I choke and die" Hanna said just before the doorbell rang "The possibility of me dying could still come" she said before Hanna's mother gave her scolding look

"Behave" Hanna's mother said before she went to go answer the door. Walking behind her mother, Hanna could see that her father had dressed nicely for the occasion as if it were some fancy dinner that he was attending. Immediately coming in to parade their grandchild with kisses, Hanna was glad to see her grandparents as it had been some time since she last saw them. Making his way inside the house as he was the last one to enter, everyone had entered into the dining area

"So who might you be?" Hanna's father asked

"Dad, this is Lucas Gottesman, my boyfriend" Hanna introduced Lucas as he shook her fathers hand and her grandparents hands as well

"Nice to meet you all" Lucas smiled

"How is he Ash?" Hanna's father asked Hanna's mother calling her what he had called her all throughout their marriage

"He's okay in my book" Hanna's mother smiled "Does anyone want drinks?" she asked

"I will take a glass of white wine" Hanna's grandmother said as they all began to take their seats around the table while Hanna's mother was off in the kitchen making drinks for everyone

"So do you two go to school together?" Hanna's grandfather asked

"Yes, we're in the same class" Lucas replied

"So then that also means your gearing up for college applications, I've been telling Hanna ever since she was little about my alma mater, what colleges are you interested in?" Hanna's father asked

"Uh, I'm planning to attend Jamestown Institute" Lucas said

"Jamestown, that's quite a prestigious school. What are you studying?" Hanna's father asked

"I'm working on computer software that can be more accessible for the hearing and visually impaired, it's like their very own version of Microsoft 7" Lucas told them

"That's big aspirations, I think Hanna finally pulled herself a smart one" Hanna's grandfather laughed

"Well they look adorable together" Hanna's grandmother beamed as she looked at the two

"Thank you" Hanna smiled as her mother came back with the drinks just as the caterers began to set up for the meal

"And I think we're getting ready to eat" Hanna's mother said noticing the caterers sudden prep of the food

Everyone was having a delightful time, enjoy many trips down memory lane of the Marin family, for Hanna it began to feel like what it once was when her parents were in love and married. On occasion she would look around the dining table and just feel like maybe things were turning better, and that her father was actually going to make an attempt to be there for her and maybe even her mother. In her mind she could picture her father realizing that he still held feelings for her mother and that he would up and leave Isabel and her snooty daughter, Isabel. A slight smile came to her face at just the thought of the smirk that would fade off of Isabels face when she realized her little mix and match family would end just the way Hanna's did.

"So I figure we should get down to business" Hanna's father said loosening up his tie like he usually would after dinner

"Down to business?" Hanna asked

"Is this involving the matter of the house because if it is, I really think that we should discuss when appropriate" Hanna's mother said

"Meaning when I'm gone, and seeing as I now know why dad is really here, I think I want to stick around for this" Hanna replied as Lucas gripped on to her hand

"I think we should probably leave" Lucas said as he got up from the table to turn to Hanna "We could get ice cream" he told her before she quickly grabbed ahold of his hand and pulled him back down into his seat

"What's going on?" Hanna asked angrily looking at all the adults in the room for some answers

"You've kept her in the dark long enough, the girl should have a say" Hanna's grandmother told her father

"Not unless I give permission" Hanna's mother quickly replied

"Mom, I'm part of this family and have just as much to gain or lose as you" Hanna said "What's the real reason you're here dad?" she turned to ask her father

"We feel it'd be within your best interest Ashley, if you were to put the house up for sale that way you can get a more affordable household within your budget" Hanna's grandfather said

"This is a joke, right?" Hanna's mother replied

"This is our only option" Hanna's father said

"No, the other option would be for you to start paying attention to the family you all ready have" Hanna said throwing her napkin down onto the table as she got up from her seat

"Hanna, that's enough" Hanna's grandfather told her

"Don't you talk to my daughter that way!" Hanna's mother scolded the elderly man "Now there has got to be another way that doesn't involve me packing up our life and possibly moving out Rosewood" she said

"The houses here are expensive, there is no way that you could afford a house here on the money that you bring in" Hanna's father said

"With the money you'll bring in from selling, you'd be able to pay cash for a house on the outskirts of Rosewood and be able to manage the mortgage and everything else" Hanna's grandfather added

"So you've basically planned this. You must've been sitting up with your new wife, just plotting how you could rid of your old life, and then it came to you, why don't I just ruin my old families life" Hanna said

"Hanna, I'm doing what I think is best for you guys" Hanna's father said

"My life is here. My school is here. My everything is here, so please, tell me how that's going to help having me pack up and move!" Hanna yelled "If anyone should suffer, it should be you for what you've done to mom and I" she said as Lucas got up to shield her off from nearly attacking her father

"I think you should calm down" Lucas whispered to her

"No, I've been dying to tell him this and this my golden opportunity since he won't be coming back" Hanna said trying to push pass Lucas but found his upper body strength had grown tougher

"Okay, I think we should all calm down before we say stuff we don't mean" Hanna's mother sighed trying to think of another solution

"I agree" Hanna's grandmother said

"There is no other way, and the decision has been made. I'm going to be meeting with the realtor next week" Hanna's grandfather said

"Are you serious?" Hanna's mother yelled

"The house isn't in my name, its in my father's name" Hanna's father said

"Oh, that's a load of crap and you know it. Your every bit behind this and we all know it" Hanna's mother yelled

"What type of example will you be setting for Hanna by keeping the house, barely making it is the way to go. Ashley, you've got to think for the future" Hanna's grandfather said

"Don't you dare question my mother's parenting skills because the way I see it, she's more of a parent than your so called son. This is your fault, and the thing is you keep taking and taking until you basically just kill us" Hanna cried "Do you want to know where I've been going twice a week? Do you want me to fill you in" she asked

"Where have you been going?" Hanna's father sighed just obliging his daughters question

"I've been going to treatment for my sickness. The sickness you knew about all along" Hanna cried "You remember that day, don't you dad!" she yelled

"What the hell is going on? What is she talking about?" Hanna's mother asked as her father began to massage his head in frustration

"I'm getting treated for bulimia. I've been doing it for the past four years" Hanna told her mother as she quickly turned to look at her daughter with a tear strolling down her face

"And you knew?" Hanna's mother asked turning to look back at her father

"I thought it was a one time thing. I thought she had gotten past it, I didn't know she had continued on" Hanna's father replied

"So you just brush it under the rug, it's a serious condition that needs to be dealt with the first time, not when you feel like dealing with it. But then again that's your way of doing things, that's how it was with our marriage so now its gone on to our daughter" Hanna's mother said "I may not be bringing in the money like you, but I will do everything in my power to take care of my child with or without you" she said

"That's what I'm trying to do. I love my daughter" Hanna's father proclaimed

"You have a funny way of showing it" Hanna replied "And frankly I'm tired of guessing if you do because at this point, your dead to me" she said

"Hanna, you don't mean that" Hanna's grandmother said

"Yeah, I really do. Now if you will be so kind to leave, that'll mean the world to me" Hanna said

"No, we need to talk because clearly there is some things that I need to know about" Hanna's father said as her mother got up to open the door

"Get out! That's my daughter and I'll take care of her" Hanna's mother said as Hanna's father and her grandparents reluctantly got up from their chairs to walk over to the door

"I think you should start looking for a place to live because it's a done deal, I'm sorry, but that's how its got to be" Hanna's grandfather said

"Goodbye" Hanna's mother replied angrily before Hanna's father and her grandparents left house just as she slammed the door behind them. Leaning up against the door as if she were nursing the wounds that had just come from battle, Hanna's mother took deep breaths before regaining her strength to go back into the kitchen to join her daughter. Tending to her daughter, Lucas kissed Hanna's forehead as if he were worried even more so what this would do to her, as he secretly hated himself for pushing the connection with her father knowing that she probably got her hopes up on her father's return "Well, Lucas. I'm sorry that dinner was such a dramatic event" she apologized

"Its fine. I'm in no position to place judgment" Lucas said

"Thank you" Hanna's mother said "I hate to be rude because I would really like to get to know you better, but I think there are some things that I need to discuss with my daughter because like her father tonight, I was out of the loop on a lot things as well" she said

"That's fine. I should be heading home anyways" Lucas said "I'll talk to you tomorrow" he said leaning in to kiss her cheek

"Thanks for coming" Hanna said pulling him into a hug

"Your welcome" Lucas smiled before he made his way out of the house leaving Hanna and her mom in the kitchen.

"So, is what you said to your father true? Or was that shock value?" Hanna's mother asked scared either way of what the answer would be

"I've been handling it, but I didn't want to alarm you with it" Hanna said

"Hanna, you're my daughter" Hanna's mother cried "I love you, you get that. Your problems are my problems whether your sixteen or sixty years old" she said

"You had all the stress of trying to keep the house and working crazy hours. I just didn't want to add more problems to the list" Hanna cried

"Well that was a stupid idea because the job I care most about is being your mother, and I can't do that if you won't let me in" Hanna's mother told her "So now, we're going to talk and talk until there is practically nothing else you can tell me. Then we're going to address this issue and starting taking care of it" she said as she walked over towards Hanna to pull her into a hug like all she wanted to do was hold her baby like she was a newborn all over again.


	13. Not of the Logic

**Chapter Thirteen- Not of the Logic**

It was early in the morning when he found himself stirring in sugar to his crème colored coffee waiting amongst the scarce amount of customers that were at the diner, with his tiredness catching up to him from waking up so early, the young man looked out the window to see his friend make his way through the parking lot. Taking a sip of his coffee so that he could be somewhat alert, Lucas put his hand up to signal Alton as to where he was before being spotted by his friend. Acknowledging his friend's presence, Alton stopped off at the counter to order and receive his own cup of coffee before sliding into the booth to join his friend. For a moment the two sat in silence sipping on their cups of coffee as it appeared that they both felt like they were sleepwalking through the morning air. Sliding a manilla folder that was folded in halves so that it could fit in his back pocket, Lucas slid the folder onto the table towards Alton. Looking at the folder quizzically, Alton looked through the papers intrigued with what Lucas was planning to do with this information that he was looking through.

"So what exactly is this? And why am I getting a creepy vibe from you at so early in the morning I might add" Alton asked

"Because today my friend, we're going on adventure" Lucas smiled

"What kind of adventure?" Alton replied with a smile in return

"I'm thinking along the lines of road trip status to Winthrop" Lucas said

"Are you planning to beg for your spot in the school back or something because I'm not quite sure I want to travel all that way to do so" Alton said

"Its not that far from Rosewood" Lucas said

"Luke, its basically a six hour trip both ways, and we'll be missing our last day of school. Who knows what type of parties are going to be thrown tonight" Alton said

"None that we'd be welcomed to" Lucas said

"Since your dating Hanna Marin, girls don't look as disgusted when they look at me now. They seem like ew look at him but I'm still a bit intrigued by him" Alton said

"Yeah, that's what they say" Lucas agreed to the delusion that Alton was under

"Why do you even have real estate print out anyways? Did you come into cash that I don't know about or something?" Alton asked

"No, I just did my homework on the area for a house that's about to be put up on the market" Lucas said

"And?" Alton asked still not satisfied with the little that he was told

"Well the average house in Rosewood runs for about eight hundred thousand tops, right?" Lucas asked

"But it depends on the area still. You have to figure if the house is close to downtown and the school that'll it will run for more than eight hundred thousand, but the surrounding cities are a good comparison ballpark. Again I ask, why are you looking at real estate?" Alton asked

"I want to get a jump on some property" Lucas said

"Okay for what? Like a party house or something?" Alton asked hoping that his biggest wish would be answered

"Just because. Now will you help me?" Lucas asked

"Help you with what, you haven't really told me anything except some mumbo jumbo about how much an average house would cost in Rosewood" Alton said

"We need to get this house" Lucas said sliding the picture in front of Alton

"That's great, what's the asking price and how exactly are we suppose to get this money?" Alton asked

"Hence the trip to Winthrop and why we're up so early. All will be explained in the car on the ride over" Lucas said as he finished up his cup of coffee then pulled his keys out of his pocket heading out of the diner to his car with Alton close behind

* * *

Leaning up against her locker Hanna finished up signing one of many yearbooks that had come her way on the last week of school, she could only expect more in the next upcoming hour or so, she had signed so many that even her signature had become generic along with the message she wrote to each individual. She wanted to pride herself on remembering one thing about each persons yearbook she signed but losing focus on who's book belonged to who. Coming out of the restroom with her usual crew, Mona spotted Hanna and excused herself from the crowd to make her way over towards Hanna while she was alone. Since they last spoke, Hanna had ignored her warning of what a relationship with Herme's would lead her to and so she definitely didn't expect Hanna to embrace being his girlfriend by wearing the infamous Herme's Girl t-shirt that she rocked proudly as she strutted down the hallway. Glad to finally be done with signing her current yearbook, Hanna sighed with relief only to find a walking headache leaning up against the locker beside her.

"What do want Mona?" Hanna asked looking over what she wrote not paying any attention to Mona

"Nice to see you too Hanna. Where is Hermes?" Mona asked

"Oh, you mean my boyfriend" Hanna smiled "He didn't come to school today" she said "Why does it matter to you?" she quickly added

"Just unusual to see you without him, I just wanted to make sure I was seeing a mirage or something" Mona said

"Well I do have a life outside of him, but yes, I do like hanging out with him seeing as I am dating him" Hanna said

"Which lets me know that you didn't think about anything I said the last time we talked" Mona said

"I showed you how I felt about our previous conversation" Hanna smiled "Are we going to keep dwelling on the same issue or are we going to move on from this?" she asked

"I don't see how we can. You chose your side" Mona replied

"If you were truly my best friend then you would have supported me either way" Hanna said

"You mean like you lesbian friend and the other barely's of this school?" Mona asked

"Well the lesbian is twice the friend you'll ever be, and she happens to be my best friend, so tread carefully on the name calling" Hanna threatened

"Spare me" Mona replied

"Its kind of funny though, when you think about it. I mean you swear up and down that I'm going to lose my popularity but the amount of yearbooks I've been signing lets me know that I'm doing well for myself if not better. I think you're the one who's scared" Hanna laughed to herself

"Of what?" Mona asked

"That I'll drop you. I mean lets face it, you latched on to me and with the proclaimed Covenant becoming best friends again, that only spells bad news for Mona. We all know how Ali felt about you" Hanna smirked

"Your becoming delusional these days" Mona laughed

"I really don't think I am. I think I'm seeing things clearly now, so how about me make a little proposition?" Hanna asked

"I'm the weak one and you want to make a proposition with me, now who sounds weak" Mona laughed to herself

"Accept my boyfriend and my friends, then we can get back to being us again" Hanna proposed

"Drop the boyfriend and I'll learn to accept the friends, then we can get back to being us again" Mona rephrased

"Doesn't work like that. Lucas is a part of the package" Hanna said

"Then I guess I won't be" Mona said "And you Queen Bee status, consider that under siege" she threated

"Someone's been paying attention in history, that took you a whole two years to grasp" Hanna laughed at her threat not taking an ounce of it seriously

"I tried to be fair" Mona shrugged "Now I'm really going to enjoy knocking you down a peg or two" she smiled

"Dream on" Hanna laughed "I may not be Alison, but I sure as hell learned a thing or two from her, which is more than I can say for you" she said

"Oh, yeah, that's right Hefty Hanna" Mona laughed

"Let's not take it there because we both know what people remember you as" Hanna said as she grabbed onto Mona's yearbook that she held in her hand to open the page to find a clear space to write in "Go to hell, and oh, have a great summer. Hanna" she signed before handing the book over to Mona with the biggest smile plastered on her face just as she walked away

* * *

The music played loudly in the car as the two boys sang along to the radio like they were singing at a rock concert, it was like your typical road trip scene where it was like they were rebelling against all things that held them and the only thing that satisfied them was the open road. With his lap top in his lap, Alton continually checked for updates in the Rosewood area for properties and within an hour saw the property that Lucas was talking about earlier. Calculating what would be a reasonable asking price for the house, the boys bounced around logical amount that the house could be sold for as a minimum price. Once they figured everything to determine how much money the would need, the house had finally put up its asking price for a solid seven hundred and fifty thousand, which was fifty thousand shy of what was the anticipated guesstimate that they predicted. It was fine and dandy being two geniuses together, but the question still puzzled Alton as to why they were traveling all the way to Winthrop and what it had to do with this house. Turning down the music, Alton was eager to get to the bottom of this.

"Not that I'm not enjoying our Thelma and Louise moment, but what is all of this?" Alton asked

"This is our road trip. Remember we had talked about doing this since freshmen year" Lucas said trying to coax happiness from his friend

"Yeah, I know what we talked about in freshmen and half that stuff I assumed we'd never do, but what is this about still? I mean sooner or later your going to have to tell me since I just called my parents and lied my ass off about where I was" Alton said

"Okay, but don't judge me" Lucas sighed knowing that he would eventually have to tell Alton something "We're going to buy Hanna's house" he said

"And I'm delusional. Why do you want to buy her house?" Alton asked surprised by the lengths that Lucas was going for Hanna

"Because she may have to move away if her mom can't afford to pay for the house. Her grandparents own the house and are putting it on the market" Lucas said

"And since when did that become your role to step in and dish out thousands of dollars to keep her house?" Alton asked

"Because she's my girlfriend" Lucas said

"Yes, girlfriend. Not your wife, Luke" Alton said "This is a bit much don't you think?" he asked

"Yeah, I know. I have no other option though" Lucas sighed

"Its called having a long distance relationship, a lot of people do it" Alton said

"Well I don't want to be like other people, not when it comes to her. It took me years to finally get her and I'm not giving her up" Lucas said

"Hence the long distance relationship, if its meant to be then it'll be" Alton said

"Okay, I've heard the cliché lines, but this is different" Lucas said

"How? This is different because it's the craziest you've ever been" Alton said

"I thought you'd embrace this and say something obscene along the way?" Lucas asked surprised by his friends unusual reaction

"Because usually I'm all for the awkward stares in which you think I'm an idiot, but I do actually know when to draw the line and this needs a line" Alton said

"You wouldn't understand" Lucas sighed

"I don't need to understand. Lucas, this is a girl you spent looking through a bedroom window at, whom barely just started giving you the time of day and now we're driving six hours to Winthrop to get over seven hundred thousand dollars for?" Alton said in disbelief "C'mon think about this. Did Hanna put you up to this?" he asked

"She doesn't even know" Lucas said

"So then this is going to be like you anniversary gift or something?" Alton asked

"I knew you wouldn't understand" Lucas laughed to himself in disbelief that he even thought Alton would just understand

"Because you've all ready risked a lot to be with her and now your about to do God knows what just to keep her in Rosewood, that's what I don't understand" Alton said as Lucas quickly pulled the car over to the side of the road. Surprised by Lucas's sudden reaction, Alton looked at his friend like he had completely lost his mind

"Get out. Just get out. If you think I'm some crazed person then get out of the car" Lucas told him

"Are you kidding me? I'm God knows where and you want me to get out. Your crazy!" Alton yelled

"Get out the car Al or I'll kick your ass like I did in fourth grade" Lucas yelled at him

"I was sick that day so it doesn't count Luke" Alton siad

"If your going to sit here and rain on my attempt to keep the girl of my dreams in Rosewood then get out the damn car because if you stay, if you stay then you support me" Lucas said

"I'm your best friend, I'm suppose to tell you what I think" Alton said "I think your crazy" he said

"Well you do crazy things when you love someone" Lucas said nearly shocking himself by what he said as Alton looked at him surprised that he even said the words

"You love her?" Alton asked

"I could. I don't know" Lucas said immediately retracting what he had just blurted out "Get out" he said trying to shove Alton out the car

"No. No" Alton laughed "This is insane" he said

"If this insane then go" Lucas pleaded with his friend

"So your about to leave me on the side of the highway, and leave to Winthrop?" Alton asked

"That's the plan" Lucas agreed

"The things I do for you" Alton sighed as he straightened up in his seat "If you love the girl then I guess I should support you, but don't say I didn't warn you" he said

"Are you sure? Once I pull off that means your in" Lucas told his friend

"Pull off, lets get there before it gets dark" Alton said looking straight forward at the open highway

"Thank you" Lucas smiled as he quickly turned the wheel to get back on the road

"Your freakin crazy" Alton laughed to himself as Lucas looked over at him and couldn't help but laugh himself at the statement as Alton leaned forward to turn the music up on the radio

* * *

With A's threat still looming over their heads, the girls had decided to do their usual meet up over at Emily's for the evening, even though they wanted to enjoy some of the privileges of becoming seniors in the matter of months, they knew they shouldn't forget about A completely. Hanna had hated that Mona couldn't manage to accept her decisions but giving up Lucas wasn't something she could do even if she always amused her when she saw people crying on the last day of school because it just solidified her thoughts that people take themselves too seriously in high school, especially when they were going to see each other during alcohol induced summer parties. When the final bell rang that announced her freedom into summer she was more than thrilled to spring from the halls of Rosewood High and get home to grab a quick shower before heading over to Emily's house. Finding the walk home less than thrilling, Hanna quickly pulled out her cell phone and began dialing a familiar number that she had grown to miss over the pass couple of hours.

"Hello" Lucas answered after a few rings had passed

"Remember me, your girlfriend, the one you up and left?" Hanna asked

"Yes, I remember you. How was the last day?" Lucas asked

"It was to be expected. Mona and I are no longer friends so today was eventful in that sense" Hanna said

"I'm sorry" Lucas replied "Maybe its best that you two weren't friends because we both know she hates that your hanging out with Emily and them" he said

"Yeah, I know. I believe her nickname for Em now is the lesbian" Hanna said recollecting what Mona said earlier "That friendship has sailed away" she sighed

"What are you going to do tonight?" Lucas asked

"Go over to Em's house and hang out" Hanna replied

"See, your recovering nicely" Lucas laughed

"You sound like your on the road still, where exactly are you going?" Hanna asked

"Visiting my grandmother, she's staying by herself for a few days so Alton and I are going to hang out with her for the night" Lucas said "Are you doing okay?" he asked

"I'm doing fine. I'll be able to survive the latest drama that is my family without taking twenty steps back" Hanna sighed "I do wish you were here though" she said

"Well, I'll be home in the morning" Lucas said

"That sounds like something to look forward to" Hanna said as she noticed the big moving truck that was parked in her driveway at her house "What the hell is going on now?" she said as she began to run over towards her house causing Lucas to feel alarmed by her sudden change in tone

"Hanna" Lucas said "What's going on?" he asked her

"Luke, I have to go. I'll call you back" Hanna said as she made her way inside the house to find her mother monitoring the movers load the truck with stuff that was all ready packed away. Noticing the confusion on her daughters face, Hanna's mother quickly pulled her to the side to make sure that Hanna wouldn't make a scene. Stepping off into the laundry room, Hanna's mother quickly closed the door behind her to make sure that nothing that would be said between them would be heard by any of the workers outside. "Please tell me that none of my stuff is packed up in any of those boxes?" she quickly asked

"We have to prepare for the possibility" Hanna's mother replied

"The possibility of what? I thought we would at least have time" Hanna said

"Time for what? Hanna, owning a house cost money, and frankly I don't foresee a storm of money coming our way anytime soon. So I just have to realize the fact that we might lose the house" Hanna's mother said

"Then I'll get a job and help out, but I'm not going to leave our home because dad too busy to take care of his responsibilities" Hanna said

"I'm well aware of that but it's the hand we've been dealt, and we can't pout about forever. We have to pick up and get stronger" Hanna's mother said

"Get stronger? How do we get stronger when we're continually being knocked down?" Hanna asked her mother

"What's done is done. Now some of our stuff is being moved to storage until the final word of whether or not the house is being sold" Hanna's mother said

"So your just going to give up? That easily" Hanna asked her mother

"I'm not giving up. I'm moving on. Am I pissed that the man I married, the man I made my world is treating me like crap, yes, but this is the real world Hanna, and you can't sit and moan every time someone doesn't do right by you" Hanna's mother scolded her before she quickly opened the door and left Hanna by herself

* * *

Standing in awe of the oversized campus, the two boys took in the scenery like this was a new version of Paris to them especially since they lived in small community like Rosewood. Lucas had always looked through computer screens and magazine pictures of Winthrop but it never came to life like it had since he stepped on the campus. He could instantly hear Mr. Smith's praises of the campus flood his memory as he scanned the beauty of the landscape along with college feel the campus wreaked of, for so long he had envisioned himself here walking the pathways of this prestigious college, and now the objects that were once figments in his dreams created their own foundation. Making their way through the school with the help of the direction signs, the boys found new intrigue every corner they turned and every new sight they came upon. Wanting to continue on with the sight seeing, Lucas knew he had to get back to the point of the road trip in the first place. Dragging Alton away from the group of girls that came their way, Lucas pulled Alton into the Administration office.

"How may I help you?" The receptionist asked Lucas

"I'm here to see Mr. Smith" Lucas said as Alton looked on in confusion at his friend

"Okay, what Smith would you like to see?" The receptionist asked "Fair warning, they are pretty busy and are hard to get a hold of. Half the campus would like to see Mr. Smith" she said

"Then why ask which Smith would you like to see?" Alton said to himself in confusion with the question "That was a pretty dumb question is you all ready knew it had an answer" he laughed to himself as Lucas quickly nudged him so the woman wouldn't hear him

"Gavin Smith, I want to see Gavin Smith" Lucas told the receptionist

"Okay, I will put a note that you're here to see him" The receptionist said

"Can you just tell him that one of his students is here to see him?" Lucas asked

"Students? Gavin Smith is not a teacher, he's on the board but not a teacher" The receptionist said

"Is that his office over there?" Alton asked noticing the name plaque

"Yes, that is, but you still have to wait until he is available" The receptionist said

"How would you know if he's available if you don't get up and go see" Alton said as Lucas nudged him away again

"Look, I really need to see him. Can you just tell him Lucas Gottesman is here to see him?" Lucas asked him just as he saw Mr. Smith door open up

"Yeah, I don't think we need you any longer. Luke, shall we" Alton said pushing his friend forward as they both rushed past the rushing receptionist and were able to get past her once she realized she was still connected to her phone "Thank you" he laughed at the receptionist getting the best of her in this round as Lucas and him made they're way over towards the door

"I'm aware of the meetings I have….Lucas?" Gavin said surprised to run into his students "Uh, I have to call you back. Yes, I know, I will call you back" he said before he ended his phone call and ushered the two boys into his office closing the door behind him

"I'm so glad we caught up to you" Lucas said happily as he grabbed a seat in the chair while Alton looked around in amazement at the size of Mr. Smith's oversized office

"You are living a Miley and Hannah life. This is the best of both worlds right here" Alton laughed

"Don't touch anything Al" Mr. Smith told the young boy as he cautiously watched his movement for a few seconds before turning his attention to Lucas

"The bulldog out front mentioned which Smith, how many Smith's are there?" Alton asked

"A lot" Gavin replied quickly "What are you two doing here?" he asked

"We came to talk to you" Lucas said

"I love that you feel you can come and talk to me, but I kind of never told you about Winthrop, so…how did you know I would be here?" Gavin asked

"I looked you up, I'm kind of a genius you say" Lucas shrugged "I remember seeing Henry Smith in the brochures for Winthrop and I always wondered if you two had any relation to each other. To my surprise, I came to find out that you're his great grandson" he said

"Although I was never privy to the fact as to why we had to leave so early in the morning to come here, I do think that's interesting that you hid the fact that you clearly work at another school, a prestigious one at that. So why not let it be known in Rosewood that Henry Smith, the founder of Winthrop is you great grandfather?" Alton asked

"You two have done your homework. I figured Reese would be the one to figure it out before you two, hell Alton was the last one I thought would catch on" Gavin said

"So why the two separate lives?" Lucas asked

"I don't have a separate life, I just choose to distance one from the other. Out here, I'm Henry Smith's great grandson and Bill Smith's son, and a lot is expected from that. In Rosewood, I'm able to be Gavin and lead the life I want to lead without judgment of it not being like my grandfather. So I come up here in the summer months and take part in the Winthrop board for curriculum in the fall" Gavin said

"Which makes sense why you wanted Lucas to go here" Alton said realizing the connection

"So was this trip just something Alton schemed up as the big adventure, figure out Mr. Smith?" Gavin asked

"No, it wasn't. It's more along the lines of a business trip" Lucas said

"Business?" Gavin asked "What business?" he asked

"I want to sell a portion of the copyrights on my software, and I was hoping you'd buy" Lucas said

"Why would you do that?" Gavin asked confused

"He's in love" Alton announced as he went back to gawking over the oversized office

"Uh, Hanna Marin, somehow I knew it would come back to her. Why do you have to sell copyright to the software? Do you know how much your software is going to be worth once the final product is complete?" Gavin asked

"I know, and that's why I need money. I need a down payment to be exact" Lucas said

"A down payment, why am I hating the sounds of this along with Hanna Marin attached to this?" Gavin asked shaking his head in disbelief the lengths Lucas would go for a school crush

"Because…he's in love" Alton said again

"Okay, here me out before you check out completely. Hanna's grandparents and father are going to put her house up for sale because her dad's too busy to take care of his original family. So Hanna might have to move away" Lucas said "So I figured if I gave up some of my copyrights to the software I could help her out that way she could stay in Rosewood" he said

"Lucas this is the dumbest, the craziest, the most absurd thing you have ever said. I don't think logic was anywhere in that plan, hell I don't think a brain was even involved in the thought process of that plan" Gavin scolded Lucas

"There was a brain, all right, just not the thinking one" Alton laughed to himself

"No way. I'm not supporting this in no shape or form" Gavin said "Lucas, this is a girl. This is a high school crush that you will eventually grow up and realize it was fun, but you will find someone else and marry that person then you can logically spend thousands of dollars on that person, but not a high school girl" he lectured

"Logically, that's all you keep saying. I've thought this through and I can't let this happen to her and her mom" Lucas said

"Look, it sucks what's happening to her, but you can't fight her battles for her nor buy off her battles" Gavin said

"I get that this is stupid and crazy, everything that makes me a fool in this scenario, I honestly get that, but I want to do right by her. Someone should do right by her. I may never be with her in the future, hell we could have a horrible breakup but I will never be able to say that I didn't do right by her" Lucas said

"And that's what makes you a great guy, but you are not her parents nor or you responsible for taking care of her" Gavin said

"And all of that I agree with, but I still come back to this" Lucas said

"Al, can you please say something knowledgeable to your friend so that he can see the light about this?" Gavin asked Alton

"Wish I could. I said everything you said right now to him on the way over once I realized what his plan was, but he's dead set on this" Alton said "But then a part of me started to understand why he's doing what he's doing. Guys like us, we don't get the hot girls, we accept that, we center our futures around that, but when we finally get the girl, you want to do everything you can to keep the girl. You give up possession, you give up time, you give up selfishness, you give up everything that makes you the dork that you are because for once your that guy. The guy she could love, and yes, could goes a long way, but its could as opposed to never. So is this plan crazy, yes, but what is logical when it comes to love" he said as Lucas turned in surprise at his friend's defense of his case

"I think I finally see why you two are friends, I used to question but I see it now" Gavin said "I still don't agree with it Luke, I'm sorry" he said

"That's fine. I knew this was a big thing to ask, but I'm going to sell the rights whether with you or without you. I've shopped around the concept and I do have potential bids, but I was hoping that you would buy the rights that way it could still be our project" Lucas said

"Luke, it stopped being our project when you were willing to throw it all away. As a business man, it wouldn't be a smart investment for me because I don't know where your head is at. One day your all into this pretty much set on a path to a very good school, and then you blow it off to play hero for a girl, who barely even spoke to you in the past two years. It wouldn't be a good investment on my behalf" Gavin said

"Your rich aren't you?" Alton asked suddenly realizing what all the Smith names culminated into

"I'm sorry you wasted the gas coming up here, I can reimburse you if you want" Gavin said

"No, that's okay. I'll be fine" Lucas said as he got up from his seat and made his way over to the door

"Luke, be smart about this. If you sell then you lose your voice on the project, and then you just become a worker for someone else" Gavin sighed

"I'm not stupid, I know you think my age makes me stupid, and my lack of dating makes me desperate, but I'm not stupid" Lucas said before he left the office

"Is it possible to get the name of the designer who did your office, I'm really loving the cherry oak in this room" Alton said before Mr. Smith cut him off

"Go Alton!" Gavin yelled in frustration at the boy before he quickly caught the hint and left the office immediately

* * *

She couldn't believe that this was becoming her reality, for so long she had always that it would the house she'd return to, the house that she'd come home from on college break, or the house she'd love to enter into to smell the ginger bread aroma throughout on Christmas. All of her memories were there, whether good or bad they were in that house. She knew that her mom was upset with her but doing the best she could to be brave at this point, and show that she would be strong for the both of them even if it killed her. Watching her mother load a truck full of clothes that she had prided herself to either fit in or accessorize so that it had that extra sparkle at one point in her life was more gut wrenching than anything she had ever felt in her life. In this moment she knew that there was no way she could ever forgive her father for this, there wasn't even a chance that maybe in the future she could move past it because he took from her for the last time, and it had to end. Unable to take the sight of her home slowly depleting she went to the only place that made logical to go at this point. Standing on the front porch, she contemplated again and again about whether this was smart to do but deep down this was the only place she could go. After one knock on the door, Aria quickly opened the door to surprised to see Hanna standing outside.

"Hanna, what are you doing here?" Aria asked

"It sucks. You know, you deal with the fact that maybe if I would have been better then they would work it out, and then when it actually becomes legal, you deal with the fact of maybe this is for the best" Hanna said as Aria stepped out on to the porch to join Hanna, closing the door behind her

"Its overwhelming. You think it could never happen to your parents, and then when it does, its scary" Aria said

"At least you have Mike to get through this with. All I had was Jay-Z and the blueprint" Hanna said

"So are we good because I think I kind of need all my best friends back?" Aria asked

"I never stopped being your friend, it just hurt that you could lie to me like that, and there's one thing you'll pick up during a divorce, and that is it becomes easy to lie, so I'm done with the lies, I just want the truth" Hanna said

"Well truthfully, I missed you. Honestly, I missed you. Seriously, I missed you" Aria laughed as the two quickly hugged each other, laughing in between tears

* * *

It was well into the next morning when he found himself pulling into his driveway, Lucas had found it hard to tear his eyes away from the sight of a moving truck parked in the driveway over at Hanna's. He felt like he had failed, like his one shot of protecting her, he couldn't manage to pull through for her. The girl he had loved from afar was preparing to leave, and wouldn't truly know where she'd live after to this. The whole time he heard how crazy he was and how none of his plan made any logical sense and then it just began to sink in, that maybe it didn't have logical sense, maybe he needed to see and hear for himself that there was a fine line between crazy and logical. Getting out the car once he finally managed to wake up, Alton noticed how defeated his friend looked as he leaned up against the trunk of the car. Ever since they were kids growing up together, Alton always knew that Lucas was loyal, that he would he believe the best in a person until the day he died, and Lucas always was selfless when it came to the people he loved most, which is why it didn't surprise Alton that he would be so bold on trying to be there for Hanna. Alton knew that he was always obscene and obnoxious but it was only because with Lucas he felt like he could say dumb things and he wouldn't think any less of him in the end, so although he may have been one of the critics at first about the plan, he hoped that Lucas would have succeeded in the end.

"This isn't over. You still have options, don't you?" Alton asked

"I know, but Mr. Smith was right. If I give up copyright to my software then I might as well just give the whole concept away" Lucas sighed

"What if you negotiate full control over the software but with financial backing?" Alton asked

"It wouldn't work. Trust me I thought of everything, and I just have to accept that the girl of my dreams is leaving in my reality" Lucas said as he turned to look at his friend

"I really wish this would have turned out differently for you" Alton said

"I know, but this is life. We can't mope forever, we have to pick up and move on" Lucas said sadly

"You know I'll always be here for you, right. I mean I'm not a hot girl or a possible person you could lose your virginity with, but I'm not going anywhere" Alton said bringing a laugh to Lucas

"Alton, even when I've tried to kick you out, you've always come back. I don't expect you to leave anytime soon" Lucas said as the two shook hands before it quickly turned into rough housing. It was like they were on the playgrounds all over again, laughing as they tried to get the best of each other. Caught up in their laughter, the two were torn away from their playing around by the sudden appearance of Hanna.

"Hey guys" Hanna greeted the two of them as they broke away from each other

"Hey" Lucas smiled weakly as he walked over to hug Hanna

"Well, I had fun. I'll talk to you later" Alton said

"I heard your improving in Wii, I'm looking forward to beating you" Hanna said to Alton

"Dream on Marin. Dream on" Alton laughed as he began to walk away

"How are you doing?" Lucas asked her

"Good, surprisingly. I had a very good talk with Aria" Hanna said surprising Lucas with the mention of Aria in the same sentence

"Aria, who knew it would take me leaving for you to burry the hatchet with her" Lucas laughed

"Whatever. I'm just glad that we're friends again" Hanna smiled

"So out with Mona and in with Aria. I like that" Lucas smiled

"Figures. How was your grandma?" Hanna asked

"She's good. She asked about you" Lucas lied

"Really? I really wished I could have gone with you, it would have been nice to see her again" Hanna smiled

"You will. I know you will" Lucas smiled but secretly hating that he was lying to her

"So as you can see, we now have a moving truck. My mom is putting our storage for preparation of when we get the final call" Hanna said

"I hate this. I really hate this, and I'm sorry if this sounds mean, but I kind of hate your dad" Lucas said as he pulled her close as they both leaned up against the trunk of his car looking on at the Marin household

"You and I both" Hanna said as she rested the back of her head up against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her "But I have to face it, I have to accept that I won't be living there anymore. I might not even be living in Rosewood anymore. I just never thought the divorce would come to this" she said sadly

"I wish I could do something" Lucas sighed

"I wish I could stay like this with you forever" Hanna said as a slight smile came to his face

"We could" Lucas smiled as leaned down so that he was close to her ear

"How?" Hanna asked wondering how that was going to be possible if she had to move away

"On an island in the sun, we'll playin' and havin fun, and it makes me feel so fine I can't control my brain" Lucas sang to her as all she could do was laugh at the cheesiness of how they're song seemed to fit at the moment for them

"When your on a golden sea, you don't need no memory, just a place to call your own, as we drift into the zone" Hanna sang in reply through the laughter

"We'll run away together, we'll spend some time forever, and we'll never feel bad anymore" They both sang in unison with each other as they swayed along to the imaginary music that played in their heads

"Pip, pip" Lucas said


	14. Leave and Arrive As You Come

**Chapter Fourteen- Leave and Arrive As You Come**

Eyes scanned from one person to the other, anxiously awaiting and hoping that this nightmare would come to end. But did they really want this to be over, knowing what the consequences would be, did they really want this to come to an end. Hanna was thankful that her friends were here, it seemed in the face of tragedy and a crisis they always managed to come through for each other, though it sucked that they had so many rounds of tragedy and crisis, too many to count in her book. Being in the room surrounded by all her friends proved to be too much for Hanna's mother to handle because it only just seemed to reinforce what she was making her daughter leave behind. There was no guarantee that she could still continue to go to Rosewood High, especially with strict school district codes in full effect these days. Sitting on the edge of their seats, they all were in complete anticipation which came to an abrupt end once they finally heard the phone ring. Sighs of sadness filled the room as Hanna's mother quickly grabbed the cordless phone and took the call in the other room. Hanna was unsure as to what she should even say at this point because it was all coming to an end for her life in Rosewood, before she could even motion to say anything, Lucas got up from his seat and quickly made his way out of the house. She wanted to follow him but knew that there was nothing at this point that she could promise him without being unsure herself.

"There was an offer, and it met the asking price" Hanna's mother reported to the girls "We have until next week, when the owner wants to meet us" she said

"That should be a great meeting. Hi, thanks for your house" Hanna sarcastically spoke

"Hanna they wouldn't exactly know our circumstances" Hanna's mother replied sadly "I'm going to call and make some arrangements. You girls are welcome to stay as long as you like" she said

"Thank you" Aria replied as Hanna's mother left the room

"This sucks. There's got to be something you guys could do" Spencer said

"We've tried everything Spence, I even told my mom I'd get a job, but she refuses" Hanna sighed "My dad just wants us gone, and there is no fighting against that" she said

"I always thought your dad was nice, who'd think he'd be the reason you guys were losing your house" Emily said

"My dad is a lot of things and nice isn't coming to mind when I think of him" Hanna replied

"So where will you guys live?" Aria asked

"My mom is tightlipped about everything. We could be moving to Europe for all I know, but then again that wouldn't be a bad thing if it were Europe. I have no clue though" Hanna said

"I know I'm not exactly thrilled about the news but Lucas took it pretty bad" Emily said

"Yeah, things have been a little sad between us since the news. He tries to pretend like things are fine but I see it in his face" Hanna said "I feel like I'm losing my mind here and this all a dream or something" she said

"A part of me wants to believe A caused this, but I don't think is the work of A" Aria said

"I'd almost wish that A would have done this because its easier to hate a stranger that purposely inflicting pain on you rather than someone you once thought the world of" Hanna sighed

"How is your mom handling it?" Spencer asked

"You saw her, she's about as bad as Lucas is. I don't have time to be sad because between the two of them trying so hard its so exhausting" Hanna said

"I really wish there was something we could do. We were all suppose to graduate and leave Rosewood together" Emily laughed through the tears that were falling down her face

"Alison always said that she would be the over paid model, while we lived in a loft overlooking New York City" Aria laughed

"Ali knew how to take a picture. She'd pose for everything" Hanna said

"She had the best drivers license picture I have ever seen in my life" Spencer laughed hysterically "But then I forgot she bribed the clerk to let her trade in her headshots she took at photo boutique" she said

"Yeah, we're suppose to leave together, but plans change. I mean Ali died, and now this" Hanna said "Reality has a way of kicking us in the ass" she said as Emily walked over towards Hanna to hug her as the other girls followed behind

* * *

Tossing his beeny bag around in his hand, he had do something that stopped him from wanting to punch a wall. So up and down, up and down went the beeny bag as did his heart at the thought of Hanna leaving. He knew he wasn't being the strong and supportive boyfriend that she needed at the moment but he knew that he couldn't even fake being supportive of the fact that she was leaving much less forced out by her own family member. No the best place for him to be was in his room pacing. In his mind that sounded logical but he knew once reality hit then he knew he'd feel worse that he wasn't there for her, once he realized how big of an ass he was being, he quickly grabbed his sweater and headed towards his door that lead out onto the roof only to be met by Hanna. Opening the door slowly he slowly pulled her into a hug.

"I should really be mad at you" Hanna muttered as she burried her face in the nape of his neck

"I was being selfish, but I was being an ass" Lucas said as moments passed between the two of them as they just held onto each other. Unable to take the silence any longer, Hanna broke free from Lucas's embrace and made her way over to go sit on his bed

"I'm determined to have fun these next couple of days if it kills me" Hanna declared as Lucas joined her on the bed while they both laid back on the bed with their finger intertwined

"What do you want to do?" Lucas asked her

"Well we could go to comic book night, you've been talking about that for a while" Hanna suggested

"Yeah, but that's something I want to do. Let's do something you want to do. How about we go out to the lake, the heat is picking up these days" Lucas said

"You just want to see me in a bikini" Hanna laughed

"That works for me, but then you'd have to see my less than manly chest" Lucas said

"I like your chest" Hanna replied

"I like your chest as well, and I didn't mean that as it sounds" Lucas laughed

"So its official, we're going to the lake" Hanna smiled "Then the day after we could go to the Comic Book night" she said

"Your really into going to this aren't you?" Lucas asked "I never would've thought you'd actually consider going" he said

"I did want to go, I just liked spending my nights playing Wii with you" Hanna laughed

"Well in that case we will have to schedule a Wii marathon, I think Alton would be thrilled to redeem his name" Lucas said

"Game on" Hanna smiled as Lucas leaned over to kiss her softly on her lips making sure he conveyed his true emotions about her in each kiss that he placed on her lips

* * *

Laying out, catching some rays, the girls were more than happy to have a perfect excuse to go out to the lake. Going to the lake in the summer was practically the hot spot for teens in Rosewood, most of Alison's jokes about people came from watching them bare all down at the lake. Emily and Aria couldn't help but watch on at the playfulness between Hanna and Lucas while they were in the water together. Ever since they could remember, Hanna always had the biggest infatuation with Sean Ackerman, he was all she could ever think or dream about, so when the two got together it was like her dreams had finally come to life, but along the way it became unclear whether they were compatible in the sense of mutual like or because they were both popular. With Lucas the girls could see that she was crazy about him as he was about her, there was the innocent love that the two had for each other and really didn't even recognize. Though they never spoke the words of love, everyone from afar could see that they were in love with each other. Coming out of the water, Hanna was surprised to see that Alton was playing nice with Spencer, and wasn't trying to grope her like she had thought he would.

"You guys should go in, the water is pretty warm" Hanna said as grabbed a seat in between Lucas's legs on the ground next to Emily's chair

"I think the purpose of some of us coming is to even out our tans" Aria joked about Spencer who was rubbing sun tan all over her body

"Do you need help with that?" Alton asked nervously

"No, I'm good. Thank you though" Spencer smiled at him which was enough for him to feel like a kid in the candy store

"Do you want sun tan?" Lucas whispered to Hanna

"Yeah, I'd like some" Hanna smiled at sensual feel of his voice up against her ear as she put her hair up in a bun so that her backside was available to him. Before he probably would have been scared to death to even think of touch her, but it was second nature to him to touch her now as he massaged the lotion into her skin

"So do you guys come out here a lot?" Alton asked the girls

"Doesn't everybody" Aria replied with a simple smile on her face

"Well Luke and I used to try to avoid the lake, but it looks like you guys have a routine down pack" Alton said

"We use to come out here a lot with Alison, after that we individually came out rarely" Spencer said

"Speak for yourself, I love coming out to the lake" Hanna replied enjoying the attention her back was getting from Lucas

"I think now we know why you love the lake" Emily teased her

"Hey Alton, how long have Lucas and you been friends?" Aria asked him

"Practically forever" Alton replied just thrilled that he was being talked to by Alison's Covenant

"Alton, here, is quite the genius himself. He's in the top five with you Spence" Hanna said

"Really? So you're probably all bugged down with college applications" Spencer asked him

"Not really" Alton replied

"Alton is one of those, who are just smart, they don't study or over think the future because they're just smart" Lucas said as he finished up putting sun tan lotion on Hanna

"So if you have no plans for the future, what exactly are you going to do when it comes to college?" Spencer asked

"Uh oh, I smell debates on education coming our way" Hanna laughed

"I plan to go to college but I'm not going to worry about it" Alton replied

"That doesn't make sense. If you don't get into college then what?" Spencer asked

"Then life still goes on" Alton replied as the girls couldn't help but laugh at how Spencer seemed intrigued by this theory that college isn't be all, end all deal that she made it out to be

"I like that stance. I mean I would love to travel after high school" Aria said

"Yeah, but that's you Aria" Spencer quickly replied

"Listen, I just think that college is an institution meant to shape a mind that is not yet formed. If the mind is all ready formed and aware of what it desires, then why waste time and money on an institution" Alton said

"That has got to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard?" Spencer laughed

"Dumb logic from an early admittance into nearly all the ivy leagues, and M.I.T" Alton smiled coyly getting the upper hand against Spencer

"Early admittance? How is that even possible?" Spencer asked "I didn't even know they accept towards the end of Junior year" she said

"He means it when he says a readily formed mind. Alton takes high school required courses as well as college courses, so technically he's all ready enrolled at M.I.T" Lucas said

"Yeah, don't let the severe case of horniness and drooling fool you. He's really smart" Hanna laughed as Spencer smiled at Alton impressively

"I don't think I've met anyone who could care so little but accomplish so much" Spencer said

"Because, I don't worry my life away on that stuff. I simply take classes that are of interest to me" Alton said

"Game. Set and match, goes to Alton" Emily laughed

* * *

Leaving everyone behind to play in the water, Lucas and Hanna walked off to go grab some food for the group. Walking hand in hand, the two just enjoyed each others company and didn't want to ruin it with words it felt like. All he could think about was how in a few days she would be gone, and he'd have to wonder what she was doing or what she was thinking or even if she still felt the same way about him once she'd finally get settle in. All she could think about was how much she was going to miss being with her friends, listening to Spencer ramble on about the importance of education and how selecting a good college could impact the future, watching Aria try her latest trend that set her apart from everyone at school, or going to Emily for advice about Lucas and every other aspect of her life she couldn't seem to figure on her own. It had been three years since they were close, and now that she had them back, it was hard to imagine life without them. Then to top it all off she seemed get teary eyed even more so over the thought of leaving Lucas, leaving the way they just fit together without even really having to try. She hated the thought of not be able to lay next to him or laugh with him or beating him every now and then in video games or the way his hair felt in the morning when it was flat, she was going to miss everything about him. Stopping short of their desired location, the two sat together on a rock overlooking the lake.

"This is hard. I thought this would be easy, but I hate this with every fiber in me" Hanna said hiding her face within his chest

"I know, but your doing a great job of being brave. You have your mom's strength" Lucas smiled "Besides we still have a few more days left to be happy and then we can be sad" he told her

"I think we've switched roles here. Yesterday you were all sad, and now I'm sad" Hanna laughed

"Well I'm looking at the fact that I got to rub you down with lotion today, that'll last me a couple of months in my dirty fantasies of you" Lucas laughed making her giggle at the ways he still found her sexy even when they weren't intimate with each other

"Are you going to rub on someone else when I'm gone?" Hanna asked looking up at him

"Probably my grandma. She has this whole thing about keeping the skin young" Lucas replied "Why would you ask me that?" he asked

"Because we'll be entering into the phase where it's a long distance relationship. I won't be the girl across the street, and lets be honest about how long distance works" Hanna said

"So are you saying you want to break up?" Lucas asked

"I don't want you to be stuck to a commitment that you won't want" Hanna said as she began to play with his hair

"I've wanted you for the longest, I doubt distance is going to change that for me" Lucas smiled "Do you want to break up?" he asked her

"No. I'm just scared about how we're going to be, I mean we won't be the same after this" Hanna said

"Its not like I'm not going to come see you. I'll probably see you so much that you'll get sick of me" Lucas said as he leaned in to kiss her forehead

"Yeah, maybe" Hanna laughed

"Oh, please. You're the one who snores" Lucas laughed

"Oh, well that works" Hanna laughed "Alton is getting along good with them, surprisingly well" she smiled

"He knows when to turn on the charm, the one that doesn't creep people out" Lucas said

"Today was pretty perfect. I want everyday to be like this" Hanna said as she leaned over to capture his lips with hers. For those few moments they kissed as if it were the last, she could still feel the spark that had electrified her body the first time his lips touched her, she felt as if she were lucky to have felt something that most people haven't even experienced in their lives. Pulling her closer to him as he gently caressed her cheeks as he parted her lips with his, gently sliding his tongue up against hers. Kissing her softly one last time before he ended their display of affection towards each other.

"Lets just take one day at a time, and deal with the outcome when we have to" Lucas told her softly

"Sounds good" Hanna said leaning into kiss him once more

* * *

She felt like a little kid having the best week of her life, being surrounded by her best friends and her boyfriend that she was absolutely crazy about, never did she want it to come to an end. With the girls she felt like she was laughing a little bit harder than usual with them, and with Lucas she felt like they were kissing a little bit more than usual, it was amazing for her. But to each good thing she knew a bad thing was surely just around the corner. The new owner had requested when they purchased the house that they wanted to meet Hanna and her mother for a quick run through of the house, Hanna didn't quite understand the importance of meeting the new owner because she knew she was only going to hate the person that was going to move in, so what was the point she thought, but of course her mother felt that she needed to be there. Coming downstairs, almost contemplating running out the house to escape, Hanna joined her mother in the bare kitchen that was once stocked with food and memories but was now nothing to her.

"We should probably make the new owner some breakfast. You know so they could get the full effect of the house" Hanna said sarcastically as he mother quickly shot her a look "I'm sorry, I had to just spit that out" she said

"Believe me, I hate this, but we have to" Hanna's mother said "I have the keys and I'm ready to hand them over so we can just go" she sighed in frustration

"Where exactly are we going?" Hanna asked

"I got us a room at a hotel for two weeks until we can find a place" Hanna's mother siad

"And where is this place going to be?" Hanna asked

"Arcadia has pretty good prices for houses, and I've been looking over in that area mostly" Hanna's mother said

"That's great. Two hours away from Rosewood, guess that means going to Rosewood High is completely out of the question" Hanna sighed

"Things will get better, we just have to tough it out for a bit" Hanna's mother said

"We've been toughing it out for some time now. I'm ready for it to be smooth sailing by now" Hanna said

"And if we believe that is going to happen, it will" Hanna's mother smiled just as they heard a knock at the door. A sigh of frustration came from both of them as Hanna's mother walked over towards the young girl and placed a kiss on her forehead before making her way over towards the door. Taking a deep breath before opening the door, Hanna's mother quickly put her game face on once she saw the realtor and the new buys. Knowing how much this was killing her mother, Hanna knew she had to stay by her side and show her that she was in this with her regardless of how pissed she was. Walking over towards the doorway to join everyone, Hanna was quickly surprised to see a familiar face.

"Mr. Smith" Hanna said noticing her math teacher which caught her mother's attention

"This is your teacher?" Hanna's mother asked

"Yes, and now he's clearly the owner of our house. This is just great" Hanna said

"Do you think its possible if I talk with the Marin's on my own. I'll call you in when I'm ready to do the paperwork" Gavin told his realtor

"Okay, let's get this taken care of. You have other appointments to get to" The realtor told him before Gavin escorted him out of the house, closing the door behind before turning towards Hanna and her mother

"So what do you want to know about the house?" Hanna's mother asked as he made his way further inside the house to observe everything

"I don't want to know anything about the house. The house isn't for me" Gavin said

"Than who is it for?" Hanna asked

"The house is for you two" Gavin replied

"Okay, I'm confused. What exactly is going on?" Hanna's mother asked

"It was brought to my attention that you guys were going to lose the house, and I'm very fond of Hanna, so I stepped in and bought the house" Gavin said

"Yeah, I'm going to need a better version that doesn't make you seem like you're my daughters sugar daddy. Do you make a habit to just buy houses like this, especially those you don't plan to live in apparently?" Hanna's mother asked

"Why do I have a feeling I know where this leads back to" Hanna shook her head in disbelief

"Because that feeling came out to visit me at Winthrop" Gavin said

"Okay, I'm really lost here" Hanna's mother said

"Lucas and Mr. Smith are friends, they're working together on a project" Hanna said

"The house is yours and its paid for, it'll just be in my name" Gavin said

"So you just do this for a student? This house was on the market for over eight hundred thousand dollars and you bought it for the full price, how is that possible?" Hanna asked

"No, I don't just do this on a regular basis, but you know how I feel about Lucas. When he came to see me he was desperate and was talking about selling a percentage of the copyright's to his software, and I didn't want him to do that, so I pulled some strings and was able to pull of buying the house" Gavin said

"But how'd you get the money?" Hanna asked

"Let's just say I haven't been forthcoming about my life, but in a good way" Gavin said

"Why should we even keep the house? Does this deal come with attachments or something?" Hanna's mother asked

"No strings attached, just my prized student thinking clearly and not doing anything else crazy" Gavin said "Look I'm sorry about what happened to the both of you, and as much as I wanted to keep Lucas from losing his mind, I'm glad that I can help out. This house is just me giving back something that belongs to you, and its nothing more than that" he said before he signaled for the realtor to come back inside the house

"So are we ready to make this official" The realtor said happily closing the door behind him

"Yes, we are. If there are no objections?" Gavin asked Hanna's mother

"At this point I think this is a miracle that I can't turn down" Hanna's mother said becoming teary eyes as Hanna hugged her mother

"I want everything put under their names, the house belongs to them" Gavin smiled as the realtor looked confused

"You bought a house for someone else?" The realtor asked

"Don't ask, just do" Gavin said as Hanna walked over towards him wanting to speak to him privately

"Thank you. I kind of always thought that money would never fall out the sky but it kind of walked in the door this time" Hanna said

"Something like that" Gavin laughed "Just look at this as an opportunity to move on, you got screwed over, but move on from it because there are going to be a lot of people who'll want to screw you over in the future, and you don't have time to be upset with everyone" he said

"Just how much did Lucas tell you?" Hanna asked shyly

"It was actually Lucas and Alton that helped me see that you were in tough spot" Gavin told her

"Well, I'm thankful for what you've done" Hanna smiled weakly

* * *

Sifting through comic books, Lucas couldn't get his usual thrill from the colorful displays of imaginary heroism like he once did with the thought of Hanna and her mother officially signing over there house at this very moment. He had promised Alton for days that they would come down and bargain off some of his comics so that he could get the new collection of Marvel comics that came in earlier that week that Alton had been gawking over for months on the internet. No part of him wanted him to be there, he couldn't fake it even if he tried, so luckily Alton was able to pick up on his boredom and made the switch quickly that way Lucas could go back to be with Hanna. Leaving the store and making their way to the car, as Lucas began to fumble with his keys. Dropping his keys, Lucas bent down to pick up his keys only to realize that someone else was bending down as well to pick them up. Looking up, Lucas was surprised to an old friend of his before he quickly pulled him into a hug just as Alton walked over glad to see their friend.

"This is insane. I thought something had happened to you" Lucas said in amazement to see his friend

"You had everyone talking there for a second about what could have happened to you" Alton said

"Well I got banged up pretty bad, but I'm doing good. I had to go away for a little while to get stitched up" The boy laughed "I see you guys are still frequenting the usual spot" he observed Alton holding his newly prized collection

"Well I was thrilled to come today but Lucas, here, isn't feeling it these days" Alton joked

"Why?" The boy asked

"My mind is elsewhere" Lucas replied "But I do still love my comics" he said

"I would hope so since I traded my Dark Knight to you three years ago, I loved that comic" The boy said

"We know, that's all you talked about. I'm still surprised you sold it" Lucas said

"I needed the cash to get away for a bit. You know how things are at home" The boy said

"Yeah, especially with what happened to your sister. Your parents ragged on you pretty hard, huh?" Alton asked as Lucas gave him a look on his lack of sensitivity "Sorry, but we know his parents" he shrugged

"No, it okay. I mean you know how my parents are, but yeah, they among other people were ragging on me big time after that night" The boy said

"Well I'm glad to see you again, I was hoping that we would catch up" Lucas smiled

"We definitely have to. Hanna Marin? How did that happen?" The boy asked

"I don't even know but I'm glad it did" Lucas said

"Now she's moving away" Alton blurted out

"Thanks a lot Al, just when I think you have sensitivity you prove otherwise. But yeah, she's going to be leaving soon" Lucas said

"Really? I was hoping that I could meet her and see if this thing is real between the two of you" The boy laughed

"It is, it's not a fantasy of any sort" Lucas said "But you should meet her, we were going to go out and grab dinner tonight with a few of her friends, you should come?" he asked his friend

"No, I can't tonight. I have to run a few errands, but I think we'll meet when the time is right" The boy said "But I do want to hang out with you two. I feel like I owe you a good time" he said

"Well you have the number, just call and we'll set it up" Lucas said

"Okay, I will take you up on it because I do believe in payback. Hey, even take you off of Hanna's hands for a little while" The boy smiled

"Okay, I'm not exactly whipped, I do have a life outside my girlfriend. But yes, we're aware of that. Toby Cavanaugh always pays back in full" Alton laughed as they all couldn't help but laugh

"You with a life, not for long" Toby laughed joining in on the joke as they all laughed

* * *

After dropping Alton off at home, Lucas couldn't wait to get back home so that he could check on Hanna. Coming up on his house as he turned into the driveway, he got all the confirmation he needed once he saw that the for sale sign was taken down on the house, immediately knowing that it was official now, Hanna Marin no longer lived there anymore. Getting out the car, Lucas took a moment to take in the sight of the house that had housed his dream girl for the longest not prepared to see anyone else take on ownership of this residence quite yet. Noticing the door open, he quickly saw that Hanna was making her way over, somewhat eager to hear the news, Lucas walked towards her, meeting her at the end of her driveway so that they weren't in the middle of the street. Her face seemed even more upset than when he had originally saw her last. Leaning into give her kiss he could feel her pull away slightly, showing that she was visibly upset.

"What happened?" Lucas asked

"The paperwork is signed" Hanna replied "We got the house but then you know that all ready" she said

"What do you mean?" Lucas asked

"We have the house, as in we still live here. Mr. Smith bought the house and just transferred the title of the house over to us" Hanna told him as Lucas quickly pulled her into an embrace

"That's great!" Lucas said happily "That means you can stay and be with your friends and we don't have to do the long distance thing. Not that I wasn't prepared to do that but like you said it would have been hard, but I know we could make it work" he babbled

"Where were you? The last day of school?" Hanna asked not really in the mood to be happy as Lucas realized where Hanna was coming from with the question

"I see he told you, I mean he had to because it would have been a huge surprise to see your math teacher suddenly interested in buying your house" Lucas babbled before Hanna cut him off

"Were you at your grandmothers yes or no?" Hanna asked

"No. I went out to Winthrop" Lucas said

"So you lied to me, and you clearly had it planned that you were going to Winthrop to see Mr. Smith" Hanna said

"I couldn't tell you that I was going to Winthrop because I didn't want you to talk me out of it" Lucas said

"Or you didn't want to tell me what you were planning to do" Hanna replied

"Yeah, I mean I found out some stuff on Mr. Smith and I thought he could help. So I wanted him to buy a percentage of my software so that you could stay" Lucas said "Why? Why do you still seem upset?" he asked

"Because this was my business that you told, you literally drove damn near six hours out of your way to tell my business" Hanna replied angrily "You had no right!" she said as tears streamed down her face

"I was trying to fix this, I was trying to keep you from moving" Lucas reasoned

"Fix this? I'm not broken, nor am I some charity case that you go tell to anyone who will listen, who has money to just throw away apparently" Hanna said

"Okay, clear this up for me. Your upset because I was trying to help?" Lucas asked not quite understanding why they were fighting

"Because you had no right! That's why!" Hanna yelled "Makes me even wonder what else you've shared with Mr. Smith, Alton, Mrs. Smith, Mr. Wilcox anyone else that is outside of you and me" she questioned

"Are you talking about…" Lucas asked before Hanna cut him off

"That's precisely what I'm talking about. Since you have a big mouth about my personal problems between my parents then it really wouldn't bother you to go out and tell Mr. Smith everything else" Hanna said

"I can't believe you would even think I would do that" Lucas replied angrily as he looked at her with disbelief "I was trying to help you, you know what a boyfriend does when he gives a damn about his girlfriend, but then again you weren't use to that with Sean" he said

"Well at least Sean knew how to keep his mouth shut" Hanna said

"Yeah, which is why he was making out with your best friend, classic example for wonder boy" Lucas fired back angrily

"Well then maybe I need a boyfriend who can follow the example that Sean left behind because I sure as hell am not loving what you did" Hanna said

"Your unbelievable!" Lucas huffed in frustration

"And you were out of line. If I wanted you to make me into Little Orphan Annie then I would have asked you to" Hanna said "Do you know how pathtic it felt to have my math teacher, who not even barely a few weeks ago thought I was bringing you down, show up and pay off my mom's bills like she was unfit to do so or something. Now I look like a certified hoe, who's using his next big thing to pay my way. My dad makes me feel like crap enough as is, but I never thought you would" she yelled

"The fact that you can even put me in the same sentence as your father, the man who clearly didn't give a damn about you and your problem to even care or that you were going to be homeless. That lets me know all I need to know about you, and just how screwed up you really are" Lucas said sadly "I'm sorry I even bothered" he said before he threw his hands up in frustration from arguing with her with no success of getting her to understand before he just turned and walked away


	15. A Storm's A Comin'

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey everyone, thanks for reading and I hope to get some good reviews on this one. Again I want to say that reviews really are helpful when writing because it lets me know the feedback of how the story is and what you guys think and I really love to hear what you guys think. Expect some A in these upcoming chapters, A is back with a vengence. So I hope you guys like the chapter and let me know what you think. Also this chapter is short because it's in two parts so expect part two to come either tomorrow afternoon or at night, so look for it tomorrow.**

**Chapter Fifteen- A Storm's A Comin' (Part One)**

The small shop erupted with cheers once the movie had ended leaving the die hard fans of the Star Wars empire wanting more as there were no signs of people leaving any time soon. He had waited for weeks to come to Comic Book Night, which basically meant the store stayed open longer than usual and they would show vintage documentaries along with movies that started all the in between the dueling couple, Alton awkwardly sat wondering what to do to inspire some bit of conversation from either of them, but then he feared that if her were to get in a deep conversation with one then the other would be upset with him. Of course he didn't know Hanna that well, but still she had agreed to come along because he had asked her days ago when he thought he would never see her again, and he was pretty sure she only agreed because Lucas was going. He had no idea what was going on but he hated being in the middle of them when they were like this, which is weird because they usual are always connected at the lips or laughing about something. Not wanting to endure anymore of this, Alton quickly got up from his seat to see the two of them looking miserable.

"Okay, I'm ready to go. This is insane that I can't even enjoy Comic Book Night because you two are acting like a bickering old married couple" Alton complained

"Alton, you wanted to come to this thing, so we're here" Hanna said

"But I can't enjoy the aura of being surrounded by the power of the comics because I have the drowning stench of unhappiness" Alton said

"No one is unhappy. We're here and we're going to enjoy ourselves, even if people don't appreciate what other do for them" Lucas said taking a snipe at Hanna, who just rolled her eyes in annoyance that he had to take it there

"Yeah, just don't worry about us, as long as you didn't tell Lucas any secret you should be fine because then he'll have nothing to spread when your not looking" Hanna replied flashing a conniving smile at Lucas

"Although I'd be careful because once those lights go down, Hanna's bound to start snoring like she's in some lumber yard" Lucas laughed to himself as Hanna gave him a quick look

"This from the guy who's OCD about his pillows. Newsflash, it doesn't matter how many times you fluff them, they'll still be flat after two minutes" Hanna snapped back

"I wouldn't have to fluff them so much if you wouldn't weigh them down with your drool" Lucas replied quickly before Alton interjected

"You see, this is what I'm talking about. What is the point of being out together if you really don't want to? I thought we were all happy that Hanna was staying, I mean, c'mon Luke, you have your girlfriend back" Alton said

"Yeah, well I'm not sure I want her back" Lucas shrugged as Hanna shook her head in disbelief

"That's great because I don't know if I want a boyfriend with a big mouth" Hanna said as she got up to leave the shop angrily. Lucas sat for a moment wondering what would be the point to run after her, but Alton quickly gave him a look that let him know that it'd be within his best interest to. Running out into the parking lot, Lucas cut Hanna off in her stride towards the car

"Wait, look lets just stop this. This is stupid why we're fighting" Lucas said

"Yeah, because your not the one who got exposed in all of this" Hanna said

"Exposed? How did you get exposed? Hanna, I thought I was going to lose you, so I may have acted prematurely, but I did it because I wanted to keep you here, I wanted to keep my girlfriend" Lucas said in his defense

"I get that, I really do, but one, it was so easy for you to lie to me about where you were, so that makes me question if I can trust you in the future when I ask you where you were. Two, I have told you some pretty confidential stuff about myself and my family, but you just went out and told Mr. Smith about my personal life without even mentioning it to me. Do you not see why I'm upset with you?" Hanna asked

"I get why your upset but I don't understand it because at the end of the day your still here with your friends and in the home you were raised in. The only thing I apologize for is how I went about it, but I'm not sorry for doing anything to keep you from leaving" Lucas replied

"Then we have a problem, because trust is a big thing for me, and if I can't trust you then we have nothing" Hanna sighed in frustration

"So what? Are we breaking up or what? Because I don't know what we're doing here" Lucas asked

"I just need some time" Hanna replied

"Time for what?" Lucas asked

"Do you think you did anything wrong?" Hanna asked him quizzically

"No, I don't, but then again you've all ready made your mind up, so why even try to convince you otherwise" Lucas sighed "I'll go get Alton so we can go home" he said turning to go back inside the shop

* * *

Walking into Emily's house, Hanna could hear Emily's parents listening to newscast reporting on the supposed storm that was coming towards Rosewood. The storm had a lot of people nervous because it was rare that Rosewood would have storms so they always feared that each natural disaster could be the very thing that lands them in the position of what happened in New Orleans. It always amused Hanna that people forgot the biggest factor of what destroyed New Orleans, which was the fact that it wasn't a storm but a hurricane. Saying her hello's to Emily's parents, Hanna made her way upstairs towards Emily's room to find Spencer and Aria all ready there in their usual spots flipping through magazines. Words could not express how right it felt to just come in and see her best friends sitting there like it was some babysitters club meeting, and all that was left for her to do is to just take her place with them. Flopping down on Emily's bed, Hanna laid back on the bed grabbing a pillow to put over her face.

"Uh oh, what happened now?" Spencer asked noticing Hanna's demeanor when she came in which was unlike her

"Nothing, just not speaking to Lucas" Hanna muttered

"I thought you two went to some comic book thing last night?" Aria asked

"We did, and we ended up arguing. So we left early" Hanna sighed

"What were you arguing about?" Emily asked

"Over the fact that he lied, and went to Mr. Smith about my problems at that" Hanna said

"I don't get it, how exactly can a school teacher afford a house in Rosewood, especially your house after the renovations" Spencer said

"I checked him out on line. He's got the whole double life going on, his great grandfather founded Winthrop, which is some prestigious school" Hanna told them "Lucas was going there" she said

"Rich in another life, and minimum wage teacher in the other. Doesn't add up to me" Emily laughed

"So your upset with Lucas because he told your personal information, that's understandable" Aria agreed "I mean with A roaming around, trust is the biggest thing in our lives right now" she said

"But he did it because he cared, I mean lets face it, we were all writing you out of Rosewood" Emily said "I think its understandable but nothing to be upset over" she said

"And to round out the judgment of me, Spence, what do you think?" Hanna asked removing the pillow from her face to toss to the side so she could get a good look

"I'm not going to tell you what to do, Hanna" Spencer laughed

"No, this is how it goes with my boy problems. We sit and I tell you what it is and then you all give your advice" Hanna said

"Yeah, but there's got to be a point where you in your heart know what you want and need" Spencer said "If you don't trust Lucas then break up with him, if you do then end this stupidness" she said

"She thinks its stupid, I got my answer without you telling me" Hanna laughed

"No, I'm just saying that when you fight with someone you care about, the fights are sometimes stupid" Spencer said

"Let's put it this way, if there was no A after us, would this bother you?" Aria asked

"Yes and no" Hanna replied

"Ugh, there can't be an in between on this" Spencer said "Hanna, if this upsets you then talk to him about it" she said

"I have, hence the argument last night" Hanna said

"No, that was an argument, not you two talking" Spencer said

"I don't think its worth being upset with him about. I mean I see how you are when your with him, and you light up. I just think this is an excuse for you" Emily replied

"Just talk to him" Aria said

"I know, I know" Hanna agreed

* * *

Laying around in his room, Lucas grew tired of moping over his fight with Hanna or trying to figure out what he did wrong with her. He knew that how he went about getting Mr. Smith on board with his plan was wrong but he was desperate. It wasn't too long ago where he found himself upset and sad over the fact that his dream girl was leaving to God knows where and now he was still sad and upset about fighting with his dream girl. Relationships were new for him, but he never imagined that fighting with his girlfriend would hurt so badly when it felt like they were perfect together. Not wanting to mope anymore, Lucas just wanted to lighten up and at least enjoy the first days of his summer, so whenever he wanted to have some good old fashioned fun he always looked to his mom. Storming the kitchen, they were both in need of cooking up a delicious lunch for the two of them to eat. So Lucas had gone to the market and got all they needed for their big lunch that they were going to make, and on his way out he happened to run into Toby in the parking lot as he was putting the grocery away in his car.

"Hey stranger" Lucas greeted his friend as he continued to put the groceries away in the car

"I'm running into you more than I have the past couple of years" Toby laughed

"What are you up to?" Lucas asked

"I was just picking up a part for my boat, its been my little fix up so I want to follow through with it" Toby said as he raised the part to show Lucas

"You have a boat, this is new. Since when?" Lucas asked amazed by this detail

"I found it at a wreck yard, and I just loved it. So I've fixed it up and made it my own" Toby said "How is Hanna doing?" he asked her

"She's, she's doing good" Lucas smiled sadly not wanting to get back on the path of moping about how things really were with Hanna at the moment

"That's great. I bet your enjoying not having the school all in your romance" Toby said

"It does take the pressure off, but doesn't put me in the clear completely. Is there anyone special in your life?" Lucas asked

"Currently, no, but there was for a moment. I thought there could be" Toby said sadly thinking about the way Homecoming ended with Emily "Things got in the way of that" he replied

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I do think its great that you have an outlet in boating" Lucas said

"You should come sailing with me this evening. I just got this piece because I've been aching to go out this week and with the storm coming in, I think today is the perfect day to go. So Lucas Gottesman, I'm casting you and Alton onto my boat this evening" Toby declared

"Are you sure? I mean some people view sailing as sacred time" Lucas said

"Its relaxing but it isn't that sacred" Toby laughed "So what is it going to be?" he asked

"And you want Alton to come? Are you sure about that" Lucas laughed "I figure I owe him some time seeing as Comic Book night didn't go so well" he said

"So what's the answer going to be?" Toby asked

"What the heck, yeah, I'm down for some summer fun on a boat" Lucas laughed

"There you go, that's the spirit. Just come down to the country club marina around three and I'll be there" Toby said

"Okay, will do. Looking forward to it" Lucas told him

* * *

Hanna was more than thrilled that she wasn't going to be moving any time soon, thanks to Mr. Smith and partially because of Lucas act of desperation, well all because of Lucas's act of desperation. While she was unpacking all Hanna could think about was what the girls had told her, and she knew that her friends advice always meant the world to her because they knew the selfish and selfless part of her that not a lot of people got to see even though they think they know who she is inside. But trust was big to her, she'd be lying if she said that it wasn't, she trusted her dad to always be there for her and now she could barely even stand him and her love for him seemed to fade with everyday that passed. Then there was Ali, she trusted that she was honest and had her best interest at heart, but through her sessions and counseling, Hanna began to realize that Alison was a key part in her insecurities, not the main but the key part of her eating disorder. Going through the house, Hanna and her mother had made it their sole mission to take out every memory that had her father and sprinkle the new memories that had her and her mom written all over it. Stacking away her clothes in her drawer, Hanna couldn't help but stare across the street at a room that she had grown so familiar with that it almost felt like her room at times, she was quickly torn away from her thoughts when a knock came from downstairs. Heading downstairs to answer the door to find Sean on the other side.

"Sean, what are you doing here?" Hanna said after she answered the door to find him standing there

"I just wanted to come over to see if it was true. Are you leaving?" Sean asked

"No. We got a last minute hail mary in the end" Hanna said

"Oh, thank God. I was worried that I was too late or something when the sign wasn't up I got scared there for a second" Sean said relieved to hear those words come out of her mouth

"You came to see me, that's huge of you" Hanna smiled "Last time I saw you, you got a pretty good punch" she laughed

"Yeah, Lucas is unexpectedly strong" Sean smiled as she stepped out to join him on the porch "How are things with Lucas?" he asked

"I don't think that's the best thing, to talk about my current boyfriend with my ex boyfriend" Hanna said

"We were friends once Hanna. I hope we could still talk" Sean said

"But one friend wants more than the other" Hanna said

"Who? Me? I think your tooting your own horn on this one. I'm seeing someone now" Sean smiled "She's a girl from church" he told her

"Somehow that's more fitting for you" Hanna laughed

"Yeah, it kind of is" Sean smiled "So how about you and Lucas?" he asked

"We're doing good" Hanna replied

"Well I'm happy for you. I really am" Sean smiled at her

"I'm glad that you found someone. We were great at one point in our time of dating, but I think that we're who we're meant to be right now in our life" Hanna said

"I appreciate that" Sean said as he turned to leave. Hanna stood on her porch for awhile looking over at Lucas's room and wondering what he was up to. Finally biting the bullet, Hanna made her way across the street and found herself knocking instead of climbing up the grapevine like she always had when it came to Lucas. A million thoughts ran through her mind as she kept trying to convince herself that this probably wasn't the best idea. Before she could turn to leave the door opened up, Hanna half expectantly thought that it would be Lucas but looked to see that it was his mother.

"Hanna, what a surprise" Lucas's mom greeted her as she leaned in to give Hanna a hug "You just missed Lucas, he's out with some friends" she said

"So out with Alton" Hanna laughed

"Basically. Do you want me to tell him you stopped by or will you be coming by later? Luke and I made some amazing desert that we want to share with the family later on tonight, so we'd love for you to come tonight" Lucas's mother told her

"Yeah, I don't think that be a good idea." Hanna shrugged "I'm not exactly Lucas's favorite person right now" she said

"Oh, your crazy. My son is infatuated with you, your all he ever talks about" Lucas's mother said

"Really?" Hanna asked a bit surprised "I mean I know how he feels about me, but I guess I really don't know sometimes" she said

"Lucas thinks the world of you, and I guess that explains why he's been moping around lately. Look, he wears his heart on his sleeve and when he cares about someone he cares deeply for them, losing them is not an option with him because he feels like he has to solve it. Everything can be solved in his eyes" Lucas's mother laughed as she spoke about her son

"So he hasn't told you about why we haven't been talking lately?" Hanna asked

"No, but its written all over his face that he misses you and wants to hang out with you. Don't get me wrong, I love Alton, they've been friends since they were little boys, but he's different now and I think its because of you" Lucas's mother said

"I think Lucas has basically become the constant in my life, and that's a little unusual for me. I mean I have my best friends, but not…not a him" Hanna replied sadly as all Lucas's mother held her hand

"I'm sure you two will be more than able to work whatever it is that you two need to work out" Lucas's mother smiled at her

"I think we will" Hanna smiled "Is that invitation still open for tonight?" she asked with the biggest of smiles across her face at the thought of working things out with Lucas and ending this fight

* * *

It was nothing but the open seas ahead of them as the boys howled in freedom of being out on a sail boat with the wind thrashing against them. Leaning over the side of the boat Lucas found himself in amazement of the beauty of being out on the water as Toby just steered the boat laughing at how reckless and free Lucas and Alton were. After what felt like hours, the boys jumped into the water to swim around for a bit, splashing and dunking each other underneath the water every chance they got. When the wind picked up, Alton had become alarmed that the storm was coming in but didn't want to seem like he was the chicken out of the group. When the skies began to turn grey he knew that he couldn't have been the only one seeing the swift change in weather as Lucas swam back to the boat with Alton close behind. Drying off, Alton and Lucas began to observe the immediate changes in the weather but weren't to alarmed to freak but they knew it'd be a good idea to head back to the marina before they would have to start freaking out. Toby swam with reckless abandonment, showing no concern of any weather change and if so he had no care whatsoever about it. Noticing Alton and Lucas's constant look over in his direction, Toby thought he'd show a good gesture of sanity by boarding the boat.

"I have got to get a boat. I think that would improve my status with the girls" Alton laughed

"A boat will not improve your status with the girls, it just adds another thing for you to take care of" Lucas replied as Toby went below deck

"We should probably head back, looks like we're getting the storm" Alton said loud enough so Toby could hear him as he came from below deck

"Yeah, this was fun though. We have to do this again when the weather clears up" Lucas said

"Its just a few winds, we'll be fine. I use to sail in this type of weather all the time" Toby said with no care in the world

"Yeah, but we don't have storms a lot, so when they do come in its pretty big" Lucas laughed

"When I went away to Florida, it was pretty bad" Toby said "What we should worry about is what we're going to eat. I have pasta and lunchables, I don't think they're crowd favorites though" Toby laughed

"I don't think it'll be an issue because I really think we should go in" Alton said

"Guys, we're going to be fine. It will be rough waters for a little bit but you will be glad that you will be on a boat in the night sky" Toby smiled as Lucas and Alton looked at each other in disbelief that Toby was crazy enough to think that the storm was nothing to worry about

* * *

Thunder erupted so loudly within the country club that it was beginning to worry the customers that were eating in the restaurant. Occasionally some of the workers would peak outside at the weather in hopes that when they would finish their shift that they wouldn't get caught up in the storm on their way home. Looking over at the television that the workers had sneaked in so that they would watch the games, all Alex could watch on television was broadcast about the storm picking up and heading straight for Rosewood. That evening, one of his friends had to take off early, so Alex found himself covering kitchen duty and overall management of the club overlooking the staff, but he basically knew that he was managing the minorities at the end of the day so it really wasn't anything to be proud of. Rosewood Country Club knew of one kind and that was rich, white and stuck up was the fitted motto of the club so he had to take anything he could get. Making his way towards the Marina list to check and see what boats were still out, Spencer quickly snuck up on him, pulling him into a quick kiss.

"I'm glad I finally caught you alone" Spencer smiled

"Its been crazy around here. I think a lot of people are getting a bit antsy with the storm coming" Alex said just before a window was broken in by a tree branch, immediately causing a scare amongst the crowd. Pulling out his walkie, he quickly selected the maintenance channel "Can I have a clean up in the restaurant, we have a tree branch that decided to join us for dinner and we can't afford scared customers" he reported to the crew

"Got it" The guy reported back

"Your handling things well around here. Maybe they should promote you for good" Spencer said

"Yeah, promote me. I think I'll be on kitchen duty until the day, a friend of mine needed a cover, so I'm covering" Alex said "I thought you were here with your parents for dinner?" he asked

"Yeah, my parents are running late. Meetings galore today, so I think they may be a while" Spencer said

"Do you think they'll still show? Because if not, your welcome to have dinner with me in the back. We have smoked salmon that you wouldn't believe" Alex smiled

"I might take you up on that" Spencer smiled as the thunder claps got louder

"I hate this weather, it always makes me worried that something bad is going to happen" Alex said

"Nothing bad is going to happen, stop being paranoid" Spencer laughed

"Lets hope" Alex replied as he looked over the list while Spencer peaked over his shoulder "You fascinated with boats all of sudden?" he laughed

"I heard the Princeton reps come here sometimes, and I just got a tip as to the name, so if I find out they like to sail the open seas then it could be my chance to mingle" Spencer said

"Always thinking about school" Alex laughed as Spencer's eyes narrowed in on a particular name that she couldn't quite believe at first

"Toby C, is that Toby Cavanaugh?" Spencer asked

"I don't know" Alex said

"Well don't you have records on file for the marina users?" Spencer asked as Alex flipped to the back of the folder to pull out marina applications. Sifting through the papers he found the name that Spencer had mentioned

"Yeah, Toby Cavanaugh. Do you know him?" Alex asked as Spencer flipped back to the list of boats out at sea and looked to see that he had guests with him. Scanning down to see it was two very familiar names that she recognized

"Oh, my God" she exclaimed as Alex looked at her alarmingly

"What's wrong?" Alex asked

"These boats are still out?" Spencer asked nervously

"Yeah, its just Toby's boat though now though" Alex said looking over the list and the switchboard that lit up to see if the boat had made it back to the docks

"Crap! Call it in and while your at it, call the police" Spencer said as she pulled her cell phone out

"What's wrong?" Alex asked unsure as to why Spencer was freaking out like this

"Because Toby Cavanaugh is the one that hurt Emily at the dance. He's a bad guy, and he's got people with him that are at danger" Spencer said before she quickly walked away to make a phone call. Alex looked on confused but knew that Spencer wasn't known for making a big fuss if it weren't warranted so he quickly picked up the phone and began to call in the boat

* * *

Ever since meeting Lucas's parents, Hanna had found them to be very different from the parents that were your typical type in Rosewood, they were more of free spirits and quite hilarious at times. Sitting in the midst of the madness, Hanna found herself laughing her head off over Lucas's fathers stories about work and hanging out with the guys while Lucas's mother and him would bicker but in a comedic way that didn't even make it seem like they were bickering at all. This was new to her, her parents even on their best days were never this lively, they always had this certain calmness that made them seem like they were so dry and boring. Though she was having a good time, she couldn't help but wonder what Lucas's reaction was going to be once he saw her sitting in his living room with his parents. She knew that he was upset with her, but she had hoped that they could make up and get back to how they were, mini versions of his parents now that she saw more of them.

"That storm is picking up out there" Lucas's father said as he could hear the wind howling

"Did Lucas say when he would be back?" Hanna asked

"He should've been back two hours ago" Lucas's mother said "Maybe he's over at Alton's" she said

"Maybe so but what is there to do at Alton's house, really?" Lucas's father said

"Look, Lucas is fine. He's a smart kid so he's probably somewhere working on his software thingy" Lucas's mother said trying to reassure everyone

"Since you have all this faith, do you think we can get our desert now? I'm starving" Lucas's father asked as he rubbed his stomach

"Really? Why do I even expect anything less" Lucas's mother shook her head in disbelief that her husband stomach took precedence after talking about the whereabouts of their son "Hanna do you want some cake?" she asked

"Yeah, I'll take a piece" Hanna said just as her phone began to ring, pulling it out of her pocket she realized that it was Spencer calling her. Getting up and walking off upstairs to the restroom to answer, Hanna quickly picked up the call "Hello" she answered

"I need you to get down to the country club" Spencer said

"Spencer, are you crazy? Do you not see how crazy this weather is" Hanna told her friend "Why what's wrong?" she asked

"Toby is back" Spencer said as Hanna immediately froze at the mention of his name

"Did you call the police?" Hanna asked

"We called and we're calling in his boat as well" Spencer told her

"Why are you calling in his boat? Is he living on his boat or something?" Hanna asked

"He took his boat out today, but that's not why I'm calling. Lucas and his friend are on the boat with him" Spencer said as Hanna immediately made her way into Lucas's room and made her way outside to the roof to go down the grapevine. Hanna ran as fast as she could fighting against the strong winds that pushed against her frail body, with the rain pouring down so hard she felt as if nearly every element was working against her. Relieved to finally have reached her destination, Hanna knocked on the door alarmingly and was relieved to see that Emily had answered the door instead of her parents because then that would have been something that she needed to explain

"Hanna, what's wrong?" Emily asked

"We need to get to the country club" Hanna said trying not cry hysterically but every bone in her body was trying to fight the tears from coming out of her eyes

"Why?" Emily asked

"Toby has Lucas" Hanna cried and in that instance that's all the information Emily needed to grab her car keys as the two girls rushed to her car and got in

* * *

Tossing back and forth on the boat, Lucas all dressed in a rain coat that Toby had on the boat, struggled to get to lower deck of the boat with the water and the rain thrashing against him. Alton looked on scared and nervously as he hoped that Lucas would make his way to the lower deck so that he would know that his friend was okay. Relieved to see Lucas straddle the railway inside the lower deck of the boat, Toby immediately helped Lucas slam the door shut but they found it hard to fight against the strong winds that threw the boat around recklessly. Once they were able to close the door, Lucas immediately began to scan the boat to see if there was something to make the doors hold because at this point the winds were so strong that it could rip open the doors and carry them as well. Placing a block of wood long enough to secure them for awhile, Lucas knew that they would have to find some way or another to get back to the marina because staying out at sea any longer would spell bad news. Toby paced the floor nervously as he began to mumble to himself as if he were scared or something but in a different way than Alton and Lucas were.

"Toby, what's wrong?" Alton asked

"I have to finish. I have to finish" Toby muttered to himself

"Finish what?" Lucas asked trying to hold the wood in place

"I have to finish. I have to finish. I have to finish" Toby continued to say not paying attention to the two boys

"What's wrong with him?" Alton asked Lucas

"Do I look like I know!" Lucas replied angrily "I'm going to need help holding this door shut or else we're going to be blown away" he yelled as he struggled with the door. Alton quickly got up from where he was but was quickly cut off by Toby

"No. Sit down" Toby told him

"What? What's wrong with you" Lucas yelled "I can't hold this by myself" he said

"Sit down!" Toby yelled at him

"Lucas needs our help! What's the matter with you?" Alton yelled at Toby angrily as he tried to move past Toby but was quickly thrown down to the ground

"Toby, what the hell is your problem!" Lucas yelled before Toby quickly pulled out a gun

"I think there's a lot that's wrong with me, and I have to finish it" Toby replied as he quickly fired the gun


	16. Part Two

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just wanted to let you know that the BOLD parts is a flashback, not the present moment in the story. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter**

**Chapter Sixteen- A Storm's A Comin' (Part Two)**

The rain thrashed against the window as Emily's windshield wipers did little to stop it whatsoever, it had gotten so bad at times that they had to pullover on the side of the road for it to calm down a bit. Hanna wished that the weather would have been some concern to her, but it just seemed to be the one thing that stood in her way of getting to the country club to see what was going on. All she could think about was what would Toby want with Lucas, and how was it even possible that Toby came back into town without no one noticing, millions and millions of thoughts ran through her mind that it was causing her head to explode. Staring out the window didn't make things better as all she could see out in the darkened sky was his face as each star seem to be like a connect the dot that was only a picture of his smile of when he looked at her. She couldn't believe that she had been so stupid with him, she cared so deeply about him that it scared her at times how much she cared for him. Losing herself in the midst of the night, Hanna could only help but think back to a times of being with him.

_**Standing in the mirror for what felt like hours, Hanna felt herself critiquing her physical presence more and more as her eyes couldn't help but narrow in on her flaws. Running her fingers through her head, she needed to do something to distract herself from hating what she was seeing, every part of her felt the calories of the food she ate the night before course through her veins, dropping off the pounds in her most visible areas. Tears streamed down her eyes as she wanted so bad to just get rid of this image that she was seeing, usually she would have given in by now and found herself hanging over the edge of her toilet seat, but she had to be strong, she needed to be strong for herself. Coming out of the bathroom after a nice, long hot shower Lucas walked in to find Hanna staring at herself in the mirror crying. Dropping his towel on the floor causing the silence in the room to be interrupted, Hanna looked over to see him standing in the doorway.**_

"_**Don't worry, I didn't do anything stupid" Hanna said as felt annoyed that he felt the need to constantly check up on her**_

"_**I know" Lucas said closing the door behind him as he entered the room "Why were you crying?" he asked softly**_

"_**Because I just wanted to! Okay!" Hanna yelled at him "I can cry right? Crying doesn't make me anymore of a screwed up mess than what you've all ready seen, right? I can do that, huh? I don't need you to monitor me!" she yelled angrily at him **_

"_**Calm down, just calm down" Lucas said as he pulled her close to him so that he was caressing her face "I'm not judging, I would never judge" he said**_

"_**Oh, come on. You see your girlfriend puking her brains out and your just fine with that" Hanna questioned him as she broke away from his embrace**_

"_**Yeah, I think I am because I know you've been dealing with a lot lately" Lucas replied**_

"_**Throwing up because your stressed is not okay! Nothing about what I've been doing is okay and your stupid to think that its fine" Hanna yelled at him**_

"_**Hanna, what do you want me to say then? Because its clear you want me to say the wrong thing" Lucas said "Look we've all got our secrets and we all have our problems but I am no better than you, and if you think that then kill that thought quickly. I like you, and I still like you because if anything I'm in awe of the fact you have the guts to admit to it" he told her as tucked away a single strand of hair that fell out of place**_

"_**You don't think anything is wrong with me?" Hanna asked with a single tear streaming down her face before Lucas took her in front the mirror and stood behind her**_

"_**You want to know what I see?" Lucas asked her in low whisper**_

"_**I can't do this" Hanna said trying to turn away from the mirror so she wouldn't have to look at herself any longer but Lucas held onto her firmly so that she couldn't turn away**_

"_**I see someone who is caring, generous, hilarious to be around, smart, sexy as hell, and just flat out beautiful" Lucas described to her "And none of those things can be seen on the outside" he told her**_

"_**Why do I feel like this then? I just feel so….I look at myself and I hate what I see" Hanna cried**_

"_**You think I like what I see all the time?" Lucas asked her "My hair require more gel than I'm able to supply just so it won't go flat on me. I've been eating more sugars than I should because I'm starting to notice love handles. I wish I had that Brad Pitt six pack because I barely have a chest, I think I have a one pack going on or something" he criticized himself as Hanna could help but laugh even though she had tried not to. Giving her a sweet kiss on the side of her head, letting the kiss linger, Hanna felt an instant surge of strength come over her as he felt his lips press against her temple "Your perfect just the way you are, don't ever think otherwise" he whispered to her **_

* * *

The water quickly flooded the inside of the boat after the shot was fired, Alton and Lucas looked on horrified as Toby seemed to unravel before their eyes as he held on tightly to the gun, pointing the gun at Lucas then back to Alton then back to Lucas as if he was trying to work up the nerve to shoot either one of them. After firing the gun the first time, Toby was relieved to only have hit the floor of the boat but the news only got worse once he realized that the boat was beginning to flood with the hole he had put in the deck. With their hands held high above their heads, Lucas and Alton were scared out their mind at this point of whether to be scared of Toby who had a gun pointed at both of them or to be scared of the fact that water was coming inside the boat at a fast pace. Thunderclaps erupted loudly as the storm had picked up, the boat thrashed back and forth causing the boys to lose balance a few times but Toby still stood tall and broken before them.

"Toby, put the gun down. We have to cover the hole or else we're going to be flooded in" Lucas reasoned with Toby

"No, no one is moving. I'm calling the shots!" Toby yelled

"We could die, and this point we need to make sure we can ride this storm" Alton said

"Do I look like I give a crap about the storm? This is my life! This is my turn to be the center of attention" Toby screamed at them

"What are you talking about?" Lucas asked

"No, I'm asking the questions. I'm done with people telling me how I should be or what I should do!" Toby said

"No one is telling you what to do" Lucas said trying to calm him down

"Yeah, that's right. So just sit down, and shut up!" Toby yelled at them as they did as they were told while Toby assessed the damage to the boat, beginning to freak out once he saw the amount of water that had come inside "Crap!" he yelled to himself as he paced the floor rubbing the gun up against the side of his head

* * *

On the drive over, Hanna couldn't help but run through all the memories she had with Lucas, it seemed like every where she looked or everywhere she turned there was something that reminded her of him. Emily glanced over at her friend a few times, and truly felt heartbroken for her as she knew how much Hanna cared about Lucas, and to have him fall prey to A or even just Toby on his own made her feel guilty about the role she played in all of this. Hanna had to stare out the window because she knew if she looked anywhere else in this car that she would be an emotional wreck and she needed to have a clear head because there was no telling what she'd be up against once they arrived at the country club. Pulling into the parking lot, the girls nearly jumped out the car in a complete rush inside the club. Running through the hallways as fast as they could, Hanna and Emily made their way inside the entrance way to find Spencer and Alex along with the Country Club Police as well as the Rosewood Police . Spotting her friends as they rushed in, Spencer quickly pulled them aside to fill them in on what was happening.

"What's going on?" Hanna asked immediately

"We've called the police and informed the marina that Toby's boat is still out. We're trying to pick up a radio signal to see if we can locate them out on the sea" Spencer told her

"How the hell did Toby get access to the Country Club, I thought everyone was freaked out by him?" Emily asked

"We didn't even know he was back in town, so how would we know about him owning a boat" Hanna said

"But what connection does Toby have with Lucas?" Spencer asked Hanna

"I didn't even know they knew each other" Hanna said

"Did he tell you that he was talking to him or going out with him today?" Spencer asked

"We weren't exactly on speaking terms Spence, so anything he told about Toby, Alton would know" Hanna said

"And since Alton is on the boat as well, there goes forming a theory" Spencer sighed

"Have they contacted Lucas's and Alton's parents?" Hanna asked

"Yes, but the roads are so bad that the police have shut down all roadways, which surprises me that you two were able to get here" Spencer said

"I knew a couple back roads that I used to run last summer, it was pretty bad driving over but I knew the police would be out" Emily said as Hanna began to feel antsy of trying to think why Toby would go after Lucas or Alton

"There's got to be a connection because why would he go after Lucas?" Hanna reasoned

"The police are looking into it and have spoken with Lucas's parents but we don't know anything yet, at least they haven't told us yet" Spencer said as Alex rushed over to join the girls with his laptop in hand

"Okay, I was able to tap into the radio signal, but I've lost connection after certain point and my guess is that its due to the weather" Alex said

"Were you able to locate them?" Hanna asked

"I've downloaded this program from the internet that locate something with only the coordinates, which is what I have listed on the signal display, so I'm going to put them in and see if I can get an exact location on them" Alex told them

"And what did you pick up on the radio signal?" Emily asked

"Well, I recorded onto my media player, and I don't have a lot but what I do have it's pretty intense" Alex said becoming wary of letting the girls listen, especially Hanna "Hanna are you sure?" he asked her

"Just play it" Hanna told him as he looked over to see if the police were coming towards them before they all huddled together to listen to the recording that he picked up

**{{{{{{{{{{**

_**TOBY: I have to finish. I have to finish. I have to finisH**_

_**"ALTON: What's wrong with him**_

_**LUCAS: Do I look like I know!. I'm going to need help holding this door shut or else we're going to be blown away**_

_**TOBY: No. Sit down**_

_**LUCAS: What? What's wrong with you. I can't hold this by myself**_

_**TOBY: Sit down!**_

_**ALTON: Lucas needs our help! What's the matter with you?**_

_**LUCAS: Toby, what the hell is your problem!**_

_**TOBY:I think there's a lot that's wrong with me, and I have to finish it**_

**}}}}}}}}}}}**

Hanna nearly fell to the floor as she heard the sound of a gun shot ring clear on the recording and she knew that nothing good would come of this. It was just her luck that the recording would end there as all she could hear was the water thrashing against the boat but was unable to hear anyone to see if someone had been hurt, and for all she knew Lucas could be stranded somewhere out on the ocean bleeding to death. Quickly stepping away, Hanna needed to catch her breath, she needed something to help her get over the fact that her boyfriend could be dead at this point, walking backwards for a few steps as both Emily and Spencer looked at her, Hanna fell to the floor. Emily and Spencer quickly rushed over to her side trying to keep her conscience while Alex grabbed a glass of water and made Hanna drink it. Sitting up on the floor, Hanna began to feel as if the room was spinning before her very eyes.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked her friend

"We….we have to find him" Hanna cried "Please, please find him" she cried hysterically

"We're doing everything we can, we'll do everything we can to find him" Spencer said trying to calm her down as she looked to both Emily and Alex wondering how they were going to find Lucas in this type of weather

* * *

Resting his head against the wood grain of the boat, all Lucas could do was float above the water that was beginning to rise within the boat as Alton privately prayed to himself. Sitting on top of the table, Toby burry his head in his hands as he shook his head trying to think to himself what he should do as he couldn't help but mutter to himself. Hitting his head a few times with his fists, Lucas knew that Toby was far from the person he had last remembered. In middle school, it was the three of them, before Reese of course, everyday after school Lucas, Alton, and Toby would meet up in Toby's tree house and would eat gummy worms while reading their comic books. They always had a passion for the comic books, sometimes it was the one thing that solved differences they had between them. As they got older, Toby got the brunt of being made fun of at school due to Jenna and the fact that he was weird at times, sometimes Lucas and Alton were relieved whenever kids would just focus on Toby when they needed to harass someone. His parents were far from perfect examples because it seemed like he had bad both ways from home and school. Deep down Lucas always felt bad for how people ridiculed Toby, but he made it a habit to not listen to all the rumors that were spread about him because he knew himself what it was like to have people think the worse about you. Looking on at his friend now, he knew that he finally reached his breaking point, and he knew no way of saving him

"Let's go back outside" Toby instructed the guys as he hopped off the table

"If we go outside then we might as well consider ourselves dead. We're better off in here, just let us fix the hole or at least buy more time" Alton said

"Your not going to touch anything, so forget about it" Toby said

"Okay, okay" Lucas said trying to calm Toby down "Why do you want to go outside then?" he asked

"Because….I don't know!" Toby yelled realizing that the plan he thought was a good one, wasn't the brightest idea "Just shut up!" he yelled at them

"Why are you doing this? We're your friends and your doing this to us" Alton said

"My friends? My friends? That's a joke" Toby laughed

"We wouldn't be here with you if we weren't. I thought we were friends going sailing so that we could hang out" Lucas said

"No, it was you coming because I literally begged you. How many times did I have to ask if you would go Luke?" Toby said

"We're here, if we didn't want to come then we would have made up some lie" Alton said

"We, I love hearing that. We. Lucas and Alton. It's always been Lucas and Alton" Toby laughed "It was always Lucas and Alton that got spared while I got my ass kicked by the jocks for just showing my face at school" Toby said

"You think we didn't get our share of brutality. Toby, I still get slushees and swirlies to this day" Alton replied

"But you still have Lucas because it's always the two of you. Meanwhile, I had nobody. I had no one!" Toby yelled

"That's not true. You had us" Lucas said

"When did I ever have you? Don't tell me about when we were in junior high" Toby said

"You wanted to be alone. Lucas and I asked you plenty of times to hang out but you always wanted to be alone" Alton said

"Who want to be alone" Toby laughed "Seriously, who wants to be alone!" he yelled

"Don't blame us for what happened to you because whether you believe it or not, we were the only ones who gave a damn about you. Have we grown apart? Yes, but that wasn't our fault" Lucas said

"So it was mine? God, your even starting to sound like them. You've gotten into that warped mindset of if you don't fit in then its because something is wrong with you" Toby said "Hanna's got you trained well, but then we all know who trained her" he said

"This has nothing to do with Hanna, Toby" Lucas said angered by the fact that he brought up Hanna's name

"I think it has everything to do with her and her damn covenant of bitches!" Toby screamed at Lucas unable to control his anger Lucas hopped up from his seat ready to pounce on Toby for even saying Hanna's name in the same sentence as the derogatory word he had yelled but found himself cut off by Alton "Try it! Try it, if you do I will blow your brains out" he said pointing the gun at Lucas

"Put the gun down" Alton told Toby

"I'm not doing anything! I'm calling the shots!" Toby said

"What's this all about? I mean seriously, is this about Hanna and her friends because I have a feeling this really isn't, we both know who this is about, and she's dead Toby. Dead! As in no longer here to hurt us" Lucas yelled

"This has everything to do with Alison and her covenant. You're a fool to think that you belong all of sudden because you'll never belong with them" Toby said

"Well I'll take my chances but I'm not over here holding the only two people I can call my friends hostage in a damn boat that's about to sink" Lucas yelled

"She's gotten to you. Hanna, had gotten to you" Toby said sadly as he backed away in disbelief

"What are you talking about?" Lucas asked him

"Don't…don't act like you don't know because I know you know" Toby yelled

"Know about what? Toby, we can't read your mind if you don't tell us what's going on" Alton said

"About that summer, about what really happened. The summer that made me the freak show of Rosewood" Toby cried "God, I'm so sick of this! I hate this place. I hate my life. I hate that bitch for doing this to me, this is her fault. You hear that Alison? I hate you, you bitch!" he yelled out as if he were yelling to the heavens at the girl that seemed to torment those she left behind even in her afterlife "You say you were my friends, but you have no idea what I went through" he said as he aimed the gun recklessly with both of the boys wishing he would accidentally shoot while they tried to keep an eye on the rising water in the boat "This here, this was my saving grace" he said holding up the gun

"A gun?" Alton asked

"Yes, a gun?" Toby replied in the same disgust that Alton had in his tone "I dreamed of killing myself, I mean I had it all planned out where I would just do everyone a favor and just finish it. So one day I took some cash from my dad's drawer and I bought a gun on the outskirts" he said looking on proudly at his gun "I took care of it like it was a child or something, just waiting for that day to come and it never did" he laughed in disbelief

"What changed?" Lucas asked interested in where things went wrong

"I thought I found something that changes everything, I thought I found love. You know that television kind of love" Toby smiled weakly "You know what I'm talking about Luke, right?" he asked Lucas

"Yeah, I know what you mean" Lucas said "I've loved her ever since that winter" he said

"Mine was the wrong kind of love, I did things I wasn't proud of but it felt right…it felt so right" Toby cried "But she turned into something so disgusting and wrong. I know it was wrong but she…she made me a monster" he said as if he felt her presence with him as he became skiddish

"What did Alison do?" Lucas asked

"I have to finish it. I have to finish it. I have to finish. I have to! I have to finish it" Toby said to himself as he began to hit himself in the head

"What did Alison do to you?" Alton asked stopping Toby from continuing to hit himself as he looked back at him strangely before letting out a laugh

"What did she do? She died" Toby said in a demonic tone that scared both Lucas and Alton the more and more he spoke

* * *

The storm had began to calm a bit which allowed a few rescue teams to go out and search for Toby's boat. Huddled up over in a corner, Emily and Spencer took turns watching a very frantic Hanna as they went back and forth to see if Alex was able to decipher anything on his lap top while the police had gone to escort the families to the Country Club. It was only an hour after midnight as the girls still found themselves waiting for any news they could get their hands on at this point, by the time the search team went out Aria had made it and was on her own lap top trying to keep up to date tabs on the weather conditions and possible news from other towns. When Lucas's and Alton's families had arrived they were each taken into separate rooms of the country club, where they were told the news. Hanna looked on through the window that showed into Lucas's family's room to see his mother breakdown in tears, in that moment she felt her heart sink lower and lower in to the pit of her stomach as all Hanna could do was replay the last conversation she had with Lucas. There had been plenty of times where she shook her head hoping that when she regained control that she would get that moment back and tell him the things she's been meaning to tell him for weeks now. Handing Hanna a water bottle, Aria took a break from the lap top, letting Spencer take over so that she could join Hanna on the floor with Emily.

"You should eat something" Emily told Hanna

"I'm not hungry" Hanna replied quickly "Have the police found out anything yet?" she asked Aria

"No, but they have the search team out and they have put a warrant out for Toby's arrest, the recording was enough to at least arrest him" Aria told them

"Arrest him? Toby deserves more than that, the bastard deserves to die" Hanna replied

"That's not up to us. We can only abide by the law" Aria said

"The law" Hanna laughed to herself at the on going joke of Rosewood Police Department "Alison's killer is still out there, and could very well have killed my boyfriend and his best friend, but the law is doing their job. That doesn't comfort me much" she replied

"Hanna, there's nothing we can do but wait and be patient" Emily said trying to calm her down

"I think we've covered the wait and be patient part pretty well" Hanna said tossing the blanket aside as she got up off the floor to pace the floor while peaking over at Lucas's parents. Unable to take the wait any longer, Hanna felt that she should go over and talk to his parents to offer them some sort of comfort. Knocking on the door just as the police were leaving the room, Hanna was quickly pulled into a hug by Lucas's mother. The two held onto each other for a moment, silently weeping but trying to remain composed for Lucas's sake at least while Lucas's father just couldn't seem to fake it so he made a swift exit claiming to need coffee "I'm sorry. I should have told you last night, when I got the call" she apologized as she wiped the tears away

"I'm sure you wanted to be positive. This isn't something you just tell without being sure, so I'm glad you didn't" Lucas's mother said

"Do you know why he would hang out with Toby? I've been racking my brain for hours trying to figure it out but I can't" Hanna asked her

"Toby, Lucas, and Alton were all best friends at one point" Lucas's mother replied

"What happened?" Hanna asked "Why did Toby stop hanging out with them?" she asked

"Toby had a very troublesome family life, Lucas tried to be there for him but he just pushed away. Toby was always in and out of town so it just became easier for Al and Luke to not hang out with Toby, then a few summer's ago it just all changed" Lucas's mother described as all Hanna could think about was the summer she was referring to "As to why he would have them out there like this, I don't know" she said trying not to cry

"I feel like this is all my fault" Hanna cried "I know that it literally isn't but I feel like this is all my fault because if I wouldn't have been mad at him then we'd be together, and Alton would be texting about his latest internet conquest. I'm so sorry, this is all my fault" she cried hysterically as Lucas's mother pulled her close an brushed the hair away from her face as she made Hanna look at her

"Listen, this is not you fault, not by a long shot. Lucas would not want you to blame yourself because you hurting is something he would never want" Lucas's mother told her

"But I shouldn't have let it get this far" Hanna reasoned in between sobs

"So what? Couples argue all the time but who are we to know that someone is going to hold them hostage, there is no way you know could have known" Lucas's mother said "So don't think for one second think this is your fault" she said

"He's so much like you because that's exactly what he would have told me if he would have been here and saw me crying like this. Its like he has this knack for saying the right things at the right time" Hanna smiled through the tears that only caused Lucas's mother to tear up "He has a the most beautiful heart that I've ever known" she said with the biggest of smiles on her face as they heard a knock come to the door before Detective Wilden poked his head in

"Ma'am may I speak with you?" Detective Wilden asked

"Yes, come in Detective" Lucas's mother said as Detective Wilden walked inside with Lucas's father close behind him. Looking out through the window, Hanna could see the girls looking on with interest as they were each speaking with members of the search team. Turning attention back towards Detective Wilden, Hanna without a doubt knew what this was about

"No, don't do this" Hanna said catching everyone's attention in the room as both Lucas's parents looked at her confused while Detective Wilden hung his head low "You can't just give up" she said

"What? Your stopping the search" Lucas's father asked angrily

"We have searched the areas and there is no trace of the boys. We have been advised to use a waiting period so something can resurface" Detective Wilden told them

"A waiting period, while we're waiting Lucas and Alton could really be in need of our help" Lucas's mother said just as Alton's parents rushed inside of the room just as upset as Lucas's parents were

"You've got to do something" Hanna said

"My hands are tied, I can't do anything until I get the go ahead to do so" Detective Wilden said

"Go ahead, my son is missing and you need the green light to continue searching, what type of joke of a police are you guys" Alton's father said angrily

"I understand your anger but I can't do anything" Detective Wilden said

"What about the club, can't they continue?" Hanna asked

"That's up to the club owners but it is consider a police investigation and all boats are not permitted" Detective Wilden

"That's a load of crap. So we have to wait for the police, who aren't even willing to keep looking for our kids, but no private boats can do a search of their own" Lucas's father yelled

"Sir, we have to do this by the book" Detective Wilden said

"Officer or Detective, whatever you are, with all due respect, screw the book" Lucas's mother said

"Do you even care that these families want to know about their sons? Do you even care that Lucas and Alton could be waiting hopelessly for someone to come and rescue them from Toby? Oh, but wait, you don't" Hanna replied angrily as she approached Detective Wilden

"I understand your pain" Detective Wilden said to Hanna before she cut him off

"You have even begun to understand my pain" Hanna said before she quickly stormed out of the room quickly met by Spencer, Emily, and Aria. The girls followed Hanna out into the hallway before she turned to look at Spencer

"I need you parent's boat" Hanna said

"What? Hanna are you crazy? You can't go out there by yourself" Spencer replied

"Spencer! This isn't one of our many banter debates, this is me asking to use your parents boat to find my boyfriend and his friend" Hanna said

"Hanna, think about this. The storm just barely calmed and you have no idea where they could be" Aria said

"I don't care. You guys can list every possible reason under the sun as to why I shouldn't but I'm not going to sit here and wait around for news or listen to this crap that we have to wait until something resurfaces garbage" Hanna said furiously

"Wait, what? They're calling off the search?" Emily asked

"Hence the search team coming back" Spencer said

"Yeah, well that's not acceptable to me" Hanna replied "Every fiber in me feels and knows that Lucas is okay but he needs help desperately" she said

"Lucas wouldn't want you to risk your life" Aria said

"Yeah, well at this point I don't care" Hanna replied

"Hanna, how can you say that?" Aria asked

"Because Aria! I'm in love with him, and I can't let our last conversation be a stupid argument" Hanna replied

"If we were to go out on the boat, where would we look first?" Emily asked

"Wait, Em. Your not seriously entertaining this are you?" Spencer asked

"Where would we go Hanna?" Emily asked

"Let's go over the facts. The storm has lasted about five hours since they were logged to have left the docks" Hanna said

"Toby's boat was sturdy enough to withstand for a little while but not for too long" Spencer said hating that she was adding to the facts to only assure Hanna that she had to go just as Alex came running up towards the girls

"The bullet ricocheted. I did a playback, and just kept listening to it over and over. If someone would have gotten hit then you would have heard some sort of sound of pain but you didn't hear it with the ten seconds that elapsed, instead you hear it hit against a surface" Alex reported to the girls

"If you get by a bullet its either going to kill you instantly or you react quick enough for you to at least make a sound, and either Luke or Alton would have reacted if either one of them were hit within that time period" Hanna said

"So if it didn't hit either one of them then it probably went into the surface" Emily said

"And that would put a hole in the boat, hence causing the boat to…" Aria said before Hanna cut her off

"Flood" Hanna said feeling like another stab had been injected into her heart

"Spencer, if we wait for the police then we could really be racing against time on this, and if the boat could be flooding then we really don't have that much time" Emily said

"So that means they couldn't have gotten far" Spencer said just as the girls were quickly interrupted by a familiar person that always brought a sense of eerie feelings whenever she came around

"Especially when you know where the captain of the boat could have been going to" Jenna said as everyone turned their attention to her and her seeing eye dog

* * *

It was never a conscience decision for them to walk away from Toby or to leave him out, but it just seemed to happen with the more and more Toby alienated himself away from them. Toby continued his breakdown before their very eyes, not caring what so ever that all his weaknesses were beginning to show and become apparent to them. Lucas moved back into the corner of the room as Alton moved back off into the other corner on the opposite side pretending like he had become defeated on the hopes of getting through to Toby. Running his fingers through his hair as he tried to think of how to get out of this mess that he caused, Toby talked to himself where it felt like he was seeing an imaginary person by him. Holding the gun at his waste, Toby began to lose focus of his surroundings while the boys kept eyeing each other as if there was no need for words between them at this moment.

"Things didn't have to be this way" Lucas said as he rested his head up against the wall

"Yeah, they did. But it doesn't even matter because I screwed up yet again, but this time will be different" Toby said

"How so?" Lucas asked

"Because this time I'm going to make sure my story gets out, it will live on through my two best friends" Toby said

"How about we tell the story back at home?" Lucas asked

"There's no going back, not ever again" Toby replied

"Then how is the story going to live on?" Alton asked

"In heaven" Toby replied "I am going to go to heaven, right?" he asked in a childlike manner that made things even more difficult

"I hope so. I really hope so" Lucas said before letting a moment pass between them before he quickly bum rushed Toby tackling him to the floor. Moving out of the way to grab the fallen gun in the midst of flood of water, Lucas straddled Toby as he punched Toby in the face a few times before Toby wrestled him over onto his back. Alton got down on his knees searching for the gun in the water that came up to his forearms as he was on all fours searching, cursing at himself to find the gun knowing that Lucas was wrestling around with Toby. Gaining the upper hand, Toby could see Alton search for the gun so he knew he had some time before he would have to go after the gun, finally having Lucas where he wanted him, Toby rested his hands on Lucas's throat as he began to choke Lucas. Struggling like a fish out of water, Lucas thrusted his hand up into Toby's face trying to distract his focus from nearly choking him to death while his head was being shoved under the water. His mind raced and raced and raced as he now began to swat through the water to where he finally was able to get his hands on the gun. One last final punch, Lucas was able to regain air and a bit of conscience but that wasn't enough to stop the ongoing attack from Toby, who looked like a man possessed ready to give the final deathly blow. Raising up his arm, Toby gathered all the strength he had as Lucas tried to squirm out of his reach but found it to be useless with the great strength Toby was exerting at this point. Looking up at his attacker with all the fear in his eyes, trying to fight against the strength as much as he could but saw his hand lower like it was slow motion and he knew he had to accept that this could be the final blow that could kill him. His hand was inches away from his face, and all Lucas could do was run through in a milli-second slideshow of all the people he loved and the life that was about to be taken from him before he heard a gun that Toby had managed to have a second gun on him, Lucas frantically stopped his heavy breathing to see if any instant pain would come to him but nothing happened. Looking at Toby, he quickly saw the red spot with the blood flowing down his shirt as Toby's face had gone lifeless as did he. Looking down at his chest almost surprised that they were able to pull the trigger on him, Toby looked confused as he struggled to turn to both Lucas and Alton but most of his attention had turned towards Lucas as he motioned to speak only revealing the puddles of blood that formed inside.

"They'll never be able to escape her" Toby said as he desperately clung for air "A will ruin them" he said before he finally gave out leaving Lucas confused as to what he was talking about. Laying Toby down so that he could get up from the floor, Lucas looked on at Alton as he was in complete and utter disbelief that he had pulled the trigger on a person he had once called a friend, a best friend at that. Rushing over to grab the closest heavy object, Lucas began to bang away at the table trying to break the hinge that connected it to the wood grain of the boat until he was finally able to pull the table loose.

"Al, we have to get out of here or else we're going to be right there with Toby, dead" Lucas said

"What's with the table" Alton asked

"We can float on this, and we'll cut the rope to the sails so that we can support ourselves and connect to each other" Lucas said

"How is that going to work?" Alton asked

"Alton, we don't have any other option, we're in the middle of nowhere" Lucas said as Alton dropped the gun and kicked open the door only to have gush over water come caving in on them. Holding their ground, the two were able to withstand the huge amount of water before they made their way up the single stair. Looking back on last time as Toby's body floated atop the water, Lucas closed his eyes trying to shake the memory out of his head as best as he could before following behind Alton.

The two boys wrestled with the rope and then began to connect themselves together in logical places so that the water wouldn't carry them away without the other. Kicking off useless legs of the table, Lucas did a quick test of the table to make sure that it would work for them but he knew it would have to seeing as it was their only option. Racing against time, the boy moved with a quickened pace each using their individual smarts to think of anything that would come in handy for them. They both prepared to hang over the edge of the boat so that they would be able to get a good jump until a bright light quickly shined upon them. Holding their hands up to their eyes so that they could look to see what was coming towards them, the boys quickly heard screams calling out their names before Alex quickly emerged. The water thrashing against both boats that it made it impossible for the other boat to line up perfectly with the other. Ducking down from a crash of water coming his way, Lucas made sure that Alton was connected with him knowing that the only way they were going to make it onto the boat was if they jumped.

"This is as close as I can get it" Spencer yelled out before Alex climbed onto the edge of the boat, ready to help Lucas and Alton

"Okay, keep bumping the boat" Alex yelled back to Spencer

"Okay" Spencer yelled

"We don't have much time, what's the plan here?" Lucas asked realizing the backend of the boat began to go under making their jump a bit more difficult

"Jump!" Alex yelled to them

"You ready?" Lucas turned to ask Alton

"Yeah" Alton replied hesitantly fearing that all his hopes were going to get dashed if this didn't work for them. Hopping off the edge of the, Lucas backed away as much as he was allowed so that it didn't pull Alton back towards him before he ran forward, grabbing Alton along the way to make sure that Alton would at least make it before him if possible. Alex grabbed onto Alton quickly as he helped onto the boat as Lucas pushed him up with his available hand as he began to slip. Once secured, Alton tugged on the rope that connected the two as he pushed forward that pulled Lucas forward so that Alex was able to grab him and pull aboard. Laying on the floor of the boat, Lucas and Alton tried to catch their breath as Alex rushed back to take over the wheel to get them back. Looking over at Lucas, Alton grabbed his hand as if he were thanking him silently for putting him first even at a time when he had more to live for. Getting up from the floor the two boys looked out at the boat that they were once upon as he sank to the bottom of the water, the further they sailed away from the boat they knew with certainty that this time they had left him behind.

* * *

Walking up the docks of the marina, Lucas greatly appreciated land more than anything as he became thankful with every limping step he took. Feeling the rays of the sun burn against the back of his neck, Lucas couldn't help but stop to see the sunset come over the clouds, knowing that a new day had begun and the dark days were over at least for him and Alton. Not wanting to share an ounce of sorrow at a moment that he was suppose to be happy that he was still alive to see a sunset, Lucas continued to make his way up the ramp to see the Rosewood Police crowded up inside as they anxiously waited for all four of them to make their way inside. Opening the door, they were immediately enthralled into a circus as the media hounded them as they tried to push forward. Finally able to get through the crowd of media thanks to the police, Lucas and Alton immediately were embraced by their parents, who sobbed over their return. Receiving numerous amounts of kisses from his mother, he was glad to have it all over with, but scanning the crowd he was in search of one person that would make him truly feel like he was safe, the only person that made him safe. His eyes felt like they were playing tricks on him as he searched and searched but couldn't manage to find her, until finally he spotted her. Breaking free from his mother's embrace and his father's welcoming eyes, Lucas quickly walked past them and was immediately pulled into a hug by the blonde. Holding on to each other with dear life, they never wanted to let go and hadn't planned to at the moment as others looked on knowing that where the both of them wanted to be, with each other.


	17. The Eye of the Beholder

**Chapter Seventeen - The Eye of the Beholder**

He lay there restlessly in his bed, deep in a slumber after what was the day from hell out at sea, gripping on tight to his pillow he could still feel like he was out at sea, on the boat again wondering if he was ever going to make it back to his house or was he ever going to be alive none the less. Toby's rant ran through his head over and over again as he move from side to side trying to rid himself of Toby, but found it harder to do so. Making her way inside of his room through her usual entrance, Hanna could see her boyfriend tossing and turning in his sleep and she knew that what had happened was still troubling him very much so. Sitting on his side of the bed, Hanna lightly shook him so that he would awaken from his slumber. For a moment, Lucas didn't react to the shake as he imagined that he was on the boat once again being thrashed by the water but was unable to react to the movement because of his fear of what Toby would do. Torn from his fear by a familiar voice, Lucas eyes fluttered opened to see the concerned blonde haired girl sitting beside him on the bed. Slowly rising in his best, he did his best to wake himself up by rubbing his eyes but could still the sounds of the ocean ringing clearly in his head before it slowly began to fade away with the more focus he put on present with Hanna.

"Are you okay? You were quite antsy when I came in" Hanna asked as she ran her fingers through his hair for her own comfort of just to touch him

"Yeah, I'm just finding it hard to sleep. I can still picture what happened on the boat so that doesn't help things" Lucas shrugged "What are you doing over so early?" he asked as he began to play with his hair

"I thought I should come by and check on you. You were out of it last night, and I wanted you to get your rest" Hanna replied "Did you miss me?" she smiled at him

"Yeah, I kind of did" Lucas replied

"Kind of…that's flattering to hear" Hanna laughed as Lucas grabbed on to her hand and began to play with her fingers

"I think we should talk" Lucas told her

"Yeah, I think we should, but does it even matter anymore because I think we both know how we feel about a certain disagreement we had before the whole fiasco" Hanna replied as Lucas quickly cut her off with a startling statement

"I love you" Lucas replied softly bringing a smile to Hanna's face before she leaned in to kiss him

"I love you, too. I was so stupid to be upset about you caring enough to do the only thing you could do to keep me here" Hanna said

"I just realized during the whole time on the boat all the things I wished I would have done, and I just realized that I wished I would have told you I loved you more or just simply tell you how I felt" Lucas said

"Well I just don't want us to fight like that again" Hanna smiled as she playfully hit him on the arm before he caught a hold of her to hold as he kissed it

"Since we have both called it a truce on our recent disagreement, how about we do something we've never done before?" Lucas smiled at her

"I thought we said we were going to wait?" Hanna asked confused as to why all of sudden he wanted sex before he started to laugh "What's so funny?" she asked

"That's not what I was going to propose, I'm fully aware of what we promised on that subject, but what I was actually talking about was I think we should go on our first date" Lucas said

"Our first date? Luke, we've been on numerous dates, hell we sleep in the same bed nearly almost everyday. In my book we've surpassed that greatly" Hanna replied

"Okay, well what was our first date then? What did we do?" Lucas asked

"We played Wii, I think" Hanna replied "Okay, we haven't had a first date" she said realizing that he was right about the subject

"So its official, tomorrow night, we go on our first date" Lucas declared

"Can we really do that? Re-do what's technically all ready been done" Hanna asked

"Well we're going to try" Lucas said as he leaned forward to kiss her

"So what will we be doing on our first date?" Hanna asked him breaking the kiss

"Let me work on that, and I will text you tonight with all the details" Lucas smiled "Now I have an immediate thing we could do to make up for all the time we were mad at each other?" Lucas proposed as he pulled them both down onto his pillow, quickly catching her lips with his "I missed this" he said in between kisses as she couldn't help but laugh

"Your such a dork" Hanna laughed as she nuzzled his neck with her nose while placing sweet kisses on his neck as they took a few long moments to make up for some much needed make out sessions

* * *

There was no denying that she was happy from ear to ear, Hanna always loved the fact that when she was Lucas, she found herself smiling more and laughing more so than she ever did with Sean. She hated that she kept comparing Lucas to Sean, but she felt like she was in a night and day relationship, where the guy that she had dreamed of being with for so long felt like it was a one sided relationship when it came to the things that mattered the most to her, but with Lucas it was everything she always wanted in a boyfriend. Everything felt like being a school girl with her first crush when it came to Lucas, she found herself nervous when she was with him for the silliest of reasons, and the spark that she had felt the first time they had kissed only increased with each time they had kissed to the point where she made it a point to kiss him every second they were together, sometimes she even felt like she was assaulting him at times with her lips. Making her way inside the café, Hanna quickly spotted the girls sitting at their usual table before she made her way over to join them.

"What'd I miss?" Hanna asked the girls as she began to look through the menu

"Nothing new, just the latest on the home front with Aria" Spencer replied

"Oh, how is that? Has it become brutal?" Hanna asked

"My parents are arguing over who gets the house. Mike and I just trap ourselves in our rooms so we don't have to get caught up in the whole choose which parent should be at home to take care of the children" Aria sighed

"Well, I say go with the parent who can cook because I love my mom, but I do wish she could make a decent meal" Hanna laughed as Emily gave Hanna a look

"And count on Hanna to come through with the sarcasm. Just don't get caught up in it because that's what they want you to do" Emily replied

"You speak from experience?" Hanna asked

"My parents have had there spats and said a few things, but they always manage to work it out. Though I do wonder which one I could live with" Emily laughed

"I never would think that your parents would split" Aria said

"Yeah, I guess I'm fortunate" Emily shrugged "How is Alton and Lucas doing?" she asked Hanna

"I haven't spoke to Alton, but Lucas is still dealing but he's doing okay. We're actually going on our first date tomorrow night" Hanna smiled as she told her exciting news

"First date? I thought you guys all ready had a first date?" Spencer asked

"Not really. When we became a couple we just started making out regularly and acknowledging that we like making out" Hanna laughed

"That sounds fun" Aria smiled "What are you guys going to do?" she asked

"I have no idea. He's planning the whole date and he's going to give me the information tonight" Hanna said

"I love you and Lucas together, you guys are like this perfect little couple" Spencer smiled

"Perfect, I hardly believe that we're perfect, that's like the kiss of death in a relationship when you think your perfect together" Hanna replied "Besides I thought things were great with Alex?" she asked

"We have our moments, but lately I feel like we're not us anymore. I feel like is mind is elsewhere when it comes to us being together" Spencer sighed

"Did you guys have a fight?" Emily asked

"Not that I know of. Things just changed all of sudden and I try to talk to him but he's always busy with work or school" Spencer said

"Why is it that I just finish having relationship drama and nearly losing my boyfriend, and now you have the relationship drama" Hanna said "Talk it out. Lock him in a room and make him talk because if there is one thing I learned about the whole Toby fiasco its that we don't have forever to say something" she said

"Yeah, I suppose" Spencer agreed

"So on that note, here's to hoping that things will be better in the future for all our relationships" Aria said raising her water glass in a form of a toast as the other girls followed suit

"Cheers to all" Spencer replied happily as they all clinked their glasses in celebration

* * *

On a mission to plan the perfect date for Hanna, Lucas found himself acting like a crazy man setting up different places for Hanna to go as part of his scavenger hunt to the date. She was always admiring how romance was in the movies and how grand it was that the man would sweep the woman off their feet with some grand romantic gesture, so all he knew was that he wanted to give that to her, he wanted for one night show her that she was worth being swept off her feet. After finishing up his errands all around town, Lucas made his way over to go see Alton as he found it strange that he hadn't been bugging him like he usually did throughout the day. No matter how hard he tried he could still imagine himself on that boat again wondering if he was going to make it, at times when he would be still he felt his chest tighten up to the point where it felt like he couldn't breath and everything just manage to cave in on him. Going through the front door like he always had since he was a kid, he could instantly feel a different mood within his friends house. Alton's mother had taken off work that day so she could tend to her son, which was surprising seeing as his parents were very keen on not being home during the day and were usually alcohol induced by evening, even though they weren't exactly the perfect parents there was no doubt that they loved Alton, they were just new parents who weren't into old school techniques of raising their children.

"Hey Lucas, how are you doing?" Alton's mother asked

"I'm doing good. What's he up to?" Lucas asked nodding over in the direction of Alton's room

"He's okay. He hasn't really come out of his room this much today, but he's been sleeping on and off throughout the day" Alton's mother said

"Yeah, I can understand that. Sleeping is the worst but hopefully it will fade with time" Lucas shrugged as Alton came out of his room surprised to see Lucas talking with his mother in the kitchen

"Are we cheating on Hanna now?" Alton joked as he opened the fridge door to look through and see what was good to eat

"I'll let you boys talk" Alton's mother said excusing herself from the kitchen before she turned to Alton "Don't forget to take your medication before five o'clock, Al" she told him

"Will do" Alton saluted her before she went to her room "So what's up? How are you handling being on land?" he asked Lucas

"Good. Hanna and I made up, so that's a bonus" Lucas sighed

"Making up with the girlfriend is always a good thing" Alton said as he grabbed a glass from the cabinet then walked over to the faucet to pour himself a glass of water as he stood over the sink just staring at the glass, moving it back and forth like it were the ocean

"Yeah, I'm planning our first date, since we never had one. I figured we should do things right" Lucas said as he began to notice that Alton hadn't moved from his spot over the sink

"That sounds good" Alton said in a trance like state

"We should do something tonight? Take our minds off of everything" Lucas suggested as he joined his friend at the sink. Noticing how lost Alton was in the movement of the water, Lucas grabbed the glass and poured the water out before turning to his friend "What's going on?" he asked concerned about his friend

"I'm good" Alton laughed trying to convince Lucas

"You were staring at a glass of water, swaying the water back and forth, like….like we were back on the boat" Lucas said

"I'm bored. I've been home all day and forgive me if I don't have a girlfriend to pass the time with" Alton said defensively as he turned to walk away from the sink

"But your still my best friend, we still hang out. Look, if something was up, would you tell me?" Lucas asked

"Something like what?" Alton asked

"I don't know, which is why I'm asking. Are you imagining your on the boat, with Toby?" Lucas asked as Alton froze at the mention of Toby's name

"I really don't think we should talk about this, I mean with it being so fresh and everything" Alton replied

"I still see myself on that boat, scared and wondering if we were going to make it" Lucas told him "Is that why you can't sleep?" he asked

"No, I don't think I can sleep because I just can't sleep. What happened sucked, but its not ruining my life" Alton said

"So that's all it is, just can't sleep?" Lucas asked as he observed his friend

"Yeah, it kind of is Luke. I hate to disappoint you on that one. So tell me about this redo first date you have schemed up for Hanna?" Alton asked

* * *

All day long she couldn't help but think about what Lucas had planned for their first official date, Hanna had tried so hard to be in the moment of hanging out with her friends but just couldn't stop thinking about what it is that he was up to. The girls had went to the mall to do some shopping for Spencer's family retreat that they were hosting this year out at the lavish cabins up in Bridgewood, the Hastings were always known for attending the lavish events but since Spencer's mother was planning to run again for District Attorney, she figured she's schmooze the board with her leadership skills that would only elevate the law in Rosewood. While Emily, Aria, and Spencer were caught up in planning their everyday outfits for the cabin, Hanna found time to sneak away from the fitting room to try to get ahold of Lucas but found no success in that area. Not wanting to become one of those annoying girlfriends, Hanna had decided to just let him surprise her and not ruin it for herself, so with half of her attention she managed to enjoy herself with her besties, that was until she had a little run in with Mona and her crew. Mona couldn't quite grasp the concept of the Covenant getting back together, but Hanna knew that the only reason why Mona was so bitchy to her was because she feared what that would do for her own popularity and she was working over time to keep it from what Hanna heard through the rumor mill. When she got home Lucas had text her that he was coming over to discuss their date night, time couldn't move quick enough for her and when he finally did make it over to her house she nearly jumped his bones.

"Are…we…going…to….go inside?" Lucas asked in between kisses as he backed in her inside the house while he closed the door behind them with his foot not wanting to break away from her kiss

"I missed you" Hanna laughed after breaking the kiss before she buried her face in the nape of his neck as she pulled him down on the couch with her

"Clearly" Lucas smiled "It's been driving you crazy, hasn't it?" he asked knowing that she would do just about anything to get any information out of him

"A little bit. Now tell me what required you not to pick up any of my calls today?" Hanna asked excitedly

"I don't think I should tell you just yet. I'm liking this attention I'm receiving" Lucas laughed as leaned down to capture her lips

"Luke, tell me!" Hanna demanded as she broke the kiss

"Why should I?" Lucas asked

"Because the date is for me, less in case you planning on taking someone else on this date" Hanna joked before he dug in his pocket and handed her token then sat back on the couch to see her reaction while she looked at the token confused as to what it all meant "What is this?" she asked

"That's a token" Lucas replied before Hanna hit him playfully on the arm

"I can tell genius, but are you like my sugar daddy now?" Hanna asked

"Yeah, I'm your sugar daddy" Lucas laughed trying to sound macho

"No seriously Luke, what is this?" Hanna asked

"On the back of the token is coordinate, go to that coordinate and you'll find the next token" Lucas said before he gave her a quick kiss

"Before I forget, so are you up for going up to Bridgewood? Spencer is trying to get a head count on the rooms. I'd be perfectly fine staying behind with you, we have some much needed Wii time to catch up on" Hanna said leaning in to give him a quick kiss like they were playing kiss tag each time they spoke

"That's not sounding convincing, you went to the mall today to shop for Bridgewood" Lucas laughed

"Technically, I need summer wear" Hanna laughed "If your not ready yet then its fine, I just want to be with you" she smiled

"Oh, that's so sweet" Lucas smiled jokingly "Yeah, it sounds like fun. Plus it'd be fun and would take my mind off everything. Do you think Spencer would mind if I brought Alton along?" he asked

"No, as long as he's in her head count. Plus, I think they had some little flirtation going on that time at the lake, I don't think Spencer has met someone so educationally driven without any effort applied" Hanna said

"Speaking of Alton, I saw him today" he said getting up from the couch to go inside the kitchen

"How is he?" Hanna asked as still lay on the sofa looking on at the coin trying to figure it out

"I don't know. He was weird today, he wasn't his usual self" Lucas said

"Did he say anything obscene or anything referring to sex?" Hanna asked

"Nope" Lucas replied quickly as Hanna quickly sat up on the sofa to look at him with a shocked expression on her face by what she had heard of Alton

"Really?" Hanna asked "Maybe he's just still shocked or something" she said

"I get that but he should at least be able to talk to me. I mean I was on the boat as well, I saw how crazed Toby was" Lucas said

"How was Toby acting?" Hanna asked intrigued to know what Lucas knew

"He was just messed up. He was angry about everything, it was like he was mad that Alton and I had abandoned him, and that we were dating" Lucas said

"Why would he be mad about us dating?" Hanna asked

"He just kept talking about finishing something, and that Alison screwed him over. Then he said something else that I just can't seem to remember, I mean I think about it and there's no words, all I can see is his mouth moving with an ounce of sound" Lucas said

"He talked about Ali?" Hanna asked scared of what Toby had said

"He just wanted his story to be heard, and the funny thing is that even though I was scared of what Toby would have done to us, a part of me feels like he only took us out to take us away from the distractions, like he wanted to tell us something because he told us that he wanted his story to live on through Al and I" Lucas said

"His story" Hanna said to herself afraid by what Toby meant by that "Alison did make his life a living hell, but that's all Alison did" she said "There was two sides to Ali, and if you weren't her friend then you got the worst of her. The thing that sucks is that I think I got both sides" she told him

"Yeah, but your better now, and your going to get better" Lucas said as he walked back over to join her on the couch

"This may sound strange, but….how did Toby?…how did he go?" Hanna asked

"Toby shot the gun and it hit the floor luckily, all this water came in and I was scared that we were going to drown inside the boat because he wouldn't let us leave the lower deck. So Alton and I knew the only way we were going to survive is if…is if we took Toby out. Toby and I struggled for a bit and for a moment he had the best of me, he almost killed me until Alton shot him" Lucas said lost in the moment of what it was like on the boat yet again "Then that's where things get fuzzy, but I can see him telling me something but at that point I was so focused on getting the hell out of there" he said as a single tears welled up in eyes "What kind of friend is that, huh? One of my best friend dies like that and my main concern is to leave" he said as Hanna leaned in to hug him

"Hey, don't ever question how good of a friend you are because you're a pretty damn good friend" Hanna said softly into his ear "Everything is going to be okay, I promise you" she said kissing his closed eyelids "I got that from a very, very sexy guy, who makes a habit of telling me that every chance he gets" she smiled at him

* * *

Looking down at the token, Hanna did her best to decode the coordinates on her own but found no luck as all she managed to do in the time period was walk back and forth, almost so much that she feared she'd put a hole in the floor. Finally realizing that she had to bring in the big guns, and attack brain power with brain power, Hanna wasted no time calling Spencer so that she would come over to help her decipher these coordinates that he had cleverly put together on her behalf. It was taking Spencer some time to come over, which was enough time for Hanna to think about what Lucas had told her last night. All she could think about was what Toby wanted to tell Lucas and if this was all apart of her A's game to get to them. She could have spent hours and hours analyzing all things A but she wanted tonight to be special, and so she put forth her best effort to block out all things A for the evening. Looking across the way over at Lucas's bedroom she still found that he hadn't made it home yet, so she just knew that he was up to something for their date night. Torn away from her window staring, Spencer came into her room immediately crashing on to the bed in complete tiredness.

"Kill me now" Spencer declared "My parents are sampling so much food for the retreat that I think we don't have a kitchen anymore because there is literally food everywhere" she said

"Hefty Hanna's dream" Hanna replied as she took a seat on the edge of her bed looking back at her friend "Maybe you can move all that food into Melissa's room" she suggested

"And have Melissa bitch about how her room smells like provolone cheese and salami, yeah no, our family doesn't need one of her meltdowns" Spencer replied

"I'm going to bring Lucas and Alton, so there's my confirmation" Hanna said

"Cool, I can officially finish up my invite list" Spencer said finally glad that she was able to finish up something that concerned the retreat

"Is Alex coming?" Hanna asked

"Not sure, he's going to get back to me" Spencer said "That's quote for quote I might add" she said

"Sorry. So would you still be interested in my romantic endeavor?" Hanna asked cautiously trying to be sensitive to her friend

"Yes Hanna, I will help you. What exactly do you need help with?" Spencer asked getting up from the bed

"With this" Hanna said handing the token over to her "Look on the back" she instructed her as Spencer looked on at the back of the token quizzically

"This is your house….your closet to be exact" Spencer said not breaking a sweat on deciphering the coordinate as she handed it back to Hanna while she walked over to Hanna's closet

"Spencer it concerns me how you know all this stuff, but for now it'll do, but we will talk about this later" Hanna told her friend as she walked over to join Spencer at her closet to see a camera with a note on it and a token on the side of it

"Take a picture as you are at this moment, don't change for it will be vital that you remain as you are. Carry it along your path" Spencer read the note before she grabbed the camera "Ready?" she asked

"I'm not dressed" Hanna replied before Spencer took a quick picture of Hanna without her even realizing it "Spencer! I wasn't dressed, nor in the outfit I wanted to be in" she said

"He said as you are. You can't doll up because then he'll know, play fair" Spencer told her as Hanna picked up the token and handed it to her

"Decipher, quickly" Hanna urged her friend

"Downtown Rosewood" Spencer said

"Downtown?" Hanna asked confused

* * *

After deciphering coin after coin, Spencer felt like she was getting excellent practice for the S.A.T or at least the geography portion of it at this point. Lucas had gone all out to make this night special for Hanna, and she had to admit that a part of her was a little jealous that the more she knew of Lucas, the more she saw him as the perfect guy. Hanna had made a protest to the fact that perfection only lead to imperfection within the relationship, but Hanna had to be enjoying the fact that she got the diamond in a rough. The latest token had lead the girls to a dress boutique, all Hanna could do was jump in excitement at the fact that this was turning into some sort of Cinderella story and she was playing the lead role in all of this thanks to him. Sitting outside the dressing room, while Hanna was being assisted with her dress, Spencer did her best not to get too bored but then again she found herself caught up in the excitement as well with her friend. Occasionally she checked her phone in hopes that Alex would call but she found no such luck. Just as she was about to stew in her own relationship issues, Hanna stepped out looking like she was straight out of a fairytale.

"You look gorgeous" Spencer beamed "I love your dress" she smiled as she couldn't help but love Hanna's canary yellow knee length free flow dress

"Did you find the other token?" Hanna asked not wanting to get caught up in the excitement just yet because at this point she just wanted to see Lucas

"Yeah, it's the old abandoned art gallery" Spencer said "And this is the final token, which basically means your prince charming is awaiting your arrival" she smiled

"Thank you so much Spence" Hanna thanked her friend

"No problem" Spencer said as she hugged her "You look beautiful. Lucas is one lucky guy" she told her happily

"Yeah, well seeing as I went from this to this, it's pretty drastic" Hanna laughed as she compared herself to the Polaroid she took earlier

"Well you have fun, and I look forward to hearing all the detail about your redo first date" Spencer beamed at her

* * *

When Hanna had made her way to the old abandoned photo gallery, Lucas had set it up so that it literally felt like being in Italy as the aroma of homemade Italian food filled the air. Dressed forest green dressy vest with a beige a dress shirt, Lucas literally looked like prince charming to her and it just made her weak in the knees, as if she were seeing millions of sparks go off in that very moment that made her more than happy that he was hers. Taking her through the gallery, she never thought that she could enjoy looking at artist photos that took on such deeper meanings than she ever thought, but then again she loved his passion for photo art, at school he was a simple yearbook photographer but it went deeper than that she realized throughout the course of knowing him. At the end of her tour she had come to realize with the last photo that was of her laughing, that the pictures in the gallery were his. All throughout dinner they just laughed and talked about their days and added new material for their inside jokes they had with each other. If she could describe perfection, she knew that tonight would be the prime example of what the perfect first date is. Sitting off in the installation room, the two enjoyed looking at the stars that circled the room while laying back on their pillows and blankets.

"How did you pull off all of this?" Hanna asked him as they intertwined their fingers

"My grandparents bought this building in hopes of turning it into a restaurant, but when my grandfather my grandma didn't have the heart to go through with it. So I come here occasionally to work on my proposal, and I post some of my pictures here until I just made it a habit to put all of my picture here, or the ones I care about the most" Lucas told her

"Can you get any closer to perfect?" Hanna laughed "This is the best first date ever" she smiled

"I'm glad to hear that" Lucas smiled leaning over to kiss her sweetly on the lips

"I love you so much, so much that it scares me at times" Hanna told him

"Why?" Lucas asked

"Because just when I think you've seen the worst in me, you show me stuff like this" Hanna smiled

"There is nothing bad about you, we all have our bad sides, but that doesn't make us bad people or less appealing. The point of the picture that I had you bring, is to show you that even though you can come dressed up like Cinderella at the ball, the girl in the picture is worth a moment captured in time" Lucas told her "I love you whether in sweats or in a designer dress, I just love you" he whispered sweetly to her

They both stared into each others eyes, losing themselves in the other as if they were on a magical journey. He softly took his hand and brushed away a strand of hair that fell out place as if he wanted her face to remain a perfect image in his view of her, pulling his hand away, Hanna grabbed onto his arm and found comfort in directing its movement as she brushed his arm softly on her cheek. With his other hand he ran his fingers through her hair before he pulled her face towards his, bringing her into a soft but sensual kiss. The kiss had seemed innocent at first but the intensity between them grew stronger and stronger with each taste they had of each other. Sitting up on her knees, Lucas followed her example as she began to tug at his vest, loosening up the buttons before she relieved him of it just before she began in on his shirt. Looking at her and pondering what this all meant.

"What does this mean?" Lucas asked breathlessly

"I want to" Hanna replied innocently before she pulled him back into another deep intoxicating kiss

Assaulting her neck with his kisses, he had to satisfy his taste of her like he was a vampire in need of her blood. Letting out a slight moan at his tease of sensual and animalistic kisses that he placed on her neck, Hanna found his smooth chest more sculpted than she had imagined. Tearing himself away from her neck, he slowly removed the strap of her dress before he unzipped the back of her dress. Hanna assisted him of removing her dress so that just like him, she was bare. Swept away in the intensity of this moment she felt a twinge of insecurity come over her as no other guy had seen her body the way he was seeing it for the first time. Looking on at her body, he smiled, which made her even more nervous. Noticing her nervousness, he pulled her into a sweet kiss attacking her lips sensually and softly.

"Your like a work of art that possesses all the beauty in the world" Lucas whispered in her ear before placing a sweet kiss on the outside of it "I'm so in love with you" he said looking her directly in her eyes

Laying on the floor, wrapped up in a blanket, they each couldn't control the moans that escaped them during their love making. Running her fingers through his hair as he ravaged her lips in his usual assault of them and her neck as he continued on his pursuit of pleasuring her with no signs of tiredness from the both of them. Pinning her hands back, he wasted no time exploring the beauty of her body as he placed sweet trails of kisses down to her naval before he sat back on his knees admiring her beauty. Leaning forward she quickly grabbed the back of his neck pulling him into another passionate kiss as they continued on their intense and lust filled make out before he laid her back down again ready to pleasure yet again. It had been the perfect night, but most of all it was night they'd never forget as it wasn't about them having sex for the first time, but making love to each other in the most passionate they possibly could to show the other how much there love ran deep in their souls.


	18. Spoilers & Author Note

Author's Note: Sorry its taking so long but I have been super busy these past couple of weeks, but bits and pieces of Chapter Eighteen have been written so it should be up by tonight or tomorrow for sure. I do intend to finish the story so don't worry I won't leave you hanging, wondering what will happen. So for those of you who you are relying on your Pretty Little Liars fix seeing as the show is coming back in January so we won't find out about the mud on Lucas's shoes or just have our Hanna and Lucas fix, I have put together some SPOILERS for upcoming chapters. So if you don't plan to read the spoilers, I wouldn't read any further after this point.

For those of you, who stayed I hope you enjoy. J

- Toby will have a funeral at the Rosewood Cemetery, it will put Hanna in a tough position, as well as stir up some strong emotions from someone else

- Lucas will begin to remember what Toby last told him, which will cause Hanna and friends to tighten up more about what happened to Jenna

- A will be back in full force in future chapters, and will wreak havoc

- Hanna faces a life changing experience

- Mr. Smith will return and will cause Lucas to look to the future

- Hanna's will get more family drama coming her way

- There will be 8 more chapters (25 Chapters all together, my goal is to treat this like an actual tv show series)

- There will be a second story or sequel that will deal with Senior Year


	19. All That We Are

**Chapter Eighteen- All That We Are**

It had become a new phase in their relationship, a phase that she was more than happy to be in with him. The night of their redo first date was just simply amazing, that's all she could describe it as, and even if she tried to describe it, she wasn't sure she could do it justice. She had always wanted to have sex just to get it over with but in that moment she knew that it was more than just sex, there was emotion behind each kiss, there was emotion when they looked into each other's eyes, everything felt a hundred times more intense than just having meaningless sex. From that night on they were like two horny kids, and all they seemed to have was sex on the brain. All they thought now when they looked at each other was how bad they wanted to rip each others close off, it was like they were each others addiction. They had hoped that they would get some more alone time later on in the evening, when they would be up at the cabins in Bridgewood. Spencer's parents made sure that the girls and the boys were each in separate rooms to show each of their parents that the weekend would be fully supervised regardless of the retreat events, but if Spencer knew anything, it was that she knew how to bend the rules when it came to her parents and the girls were more than looking forward to being with their significant others this upcoming trip. Finding some much needed alone time together in hopes of more to come, Hanna and Lucas lay on his bed well on their way to hooking up, with each kiss turning more intense by the minute, Hanna wasted no time trying to relieve her boyfriend of his shirt.

"Uh, I thought Spencer was coming in a couple of minutes?" Lucas asked breaking the kiss gasping for air as she began to kiss his neck

"Yeah, but we have time" Hanna replied as she looked over at the clock on his bedside table "We have exactly thirty minutes" she smiled as she pulled him down with her before he quickly broke away to take his shirt off while she herself took her shirt off as well

"I like you naked" Lucas laughed before he captured her lips with his as he deepened their kiss. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Hanna didn't want any separation between the two

"Who'd ever think that you'd be so sexy" Hanna laughed as she made Lucas crack up as well at the thought of himself even being considered sexy. Wanting to advance things to the next level, Hanna used her spare hand to tug at his shorts, showing him that she wanted him to take it off. Finally realizing what his girlfriend wanted, Lucas propped himself up on his forearm as he used his other hand to pull his shorts down. Just as Lucas was trying to liberate himself of his shorts, Alton quickly made his way inside the room like he always had since he was a little kid, but this time he found more than he was hoping for

"Oh, my God!" Alton screamed in horror of seeing Lucas and Hanna in a very compromising position. Grabbing onto her shirt, Hanna cover her chest as Lucas rolled off of Hanna and quickly grabbed his shorts that were on the floor where he tossed them

"What are you doing?" Lucas asked completely embarrassed that his friend had walked in on them

"Uh, clearly I'm walking in on a hook up" Alton laughed

"Could you give us a moment?" Lucas asked hoping that Alton would catch on to the fact that he wanted him to leave the room

"Yeah, this is new for us. I'm sensing a new sense of womanhood here" Alton said as Lucas grabbed his remote control and threw it at his friend "C'mon, this is big" he laughed as he blocked the remote control from hitting him

"Alton, go!" Hanna yelled as her face got redder by the minute from embarrassment

"Okay, but we will discuss this" Alton laughed as he made his way out of the room, closing the door behind him so that they could have the privacy they requested

"That was so embarrassing" Hanna said as she put her shirt back on

"Now that's a conversation I'm not looking forward to, I think he's going to get a kick out of us….doing it" Lucas said

"And you said he was acting weird, he seems the same to me" Hanna replied

"Yeah, that was classic Alton. Let's just hope classic Alton won't become obsessed with our sex life" Lucas said as he took a seat next to Hanna on the bed

"Can you believe that" Hanna smiled "We have a sex life now" she laughed

"I know" Lucas smiled as he leaned in to kiss her "Who would have ever thought you'd put out on the first date" he laughed as Hanna hit him playfully

"First of all, it was a redo date" Hanna corrected him but was unable to stop her own laughter "Plus you were pretty cute that night" she said

"I'm cute. I'm sexy, I think my girlfriend is obsessed with me" Lucas smiled as moved in closer towards him so that there faces were inches away from each other

"You have no idea" Hanna said seductively "Could you imagine all the things we could do this weekend? I mean imagine how great the sex would be in a bed this time" she said softly and seductively to him

"In a bed? Well, you were quite impressive on the floor, I don't know if you could top that" Lucas smiled devilishly as they both leaned in slowly but were once again interrupted

"Hanna, get your ass down here. I'll be damned if we're late" Spencer yelled from outside as Hanna was caught off guard to hear her voice

"Are you guys done now?" Alton called out from the hallway

"Please, tell me we'll have our own room?" Lucas asked desperately wanting something to look forward to

"I'm working on it" Hanna sighed as they both got off the bed to go to their friends

* * *

The girls were more than excited to finally get away from Rosewood, even it was for the weekend, it was always a relief to just get up and go somewhere, Bridgewood was high on the list of suitable places to go so it just made them even more thrilled. Aria and Emily were in the kitchen making the snacks while Hanna and Maya were putting sodas and ice in the ice chest for the road so that they wouldn't have to make that many stops on the way up to the cabin, there had been times they had distracted from their snack duties, just laughing about how anal Spencer was being about everything involving this trip and they all knew it had to be because of Alex, whatever the reason was knew they had to make Spencer's departure time that she had set weeks in advance or that would be just something else for her to worry about on the way up there if they were going to be missing out on anything due to them being late to get on the road. Lucas and Alton did most of the brunt work when it came to packing with the occasional help from Spencer when it came to the arrangement of the bags. Once they were finished packing the car, Spencer had ran out of things for the boys to do while they were still waiting on Hanna, Emily and Aria in the kitchen so that gave them free time to catch a break before Spencer would assign them to something else. Running his fingers through his messy hair wishing he had took the time to shampoo it, before he could go over in his head the list of things he wished he would have done this morning including his girlfriend, Lucas was torn away by the vibration of his cell phone bringing him back to reality.

"Hello" Lucas answered

"Lucas Gottesman, this is Jenna" Jenna said causing Lucas to freeze for a second before he looked around to see if anyone was next to him before he walked out towards the street

"Hey Jenna. How are you doing?" Lucas asked

"I'm doing good, I mean under the circumstances" Jenna said

"Yeah, I've been meaning to come by but I've been busy" Lucas told her

"Are you being serious or are you giving me the political answer?" Jenna asked not being one to fall for the bs answers that people usually gave her on a daily basis

"Toby was my friend, and what happened was unfortunate, so yeah, I still want to pay my respects" Lucas replied

"Are you still willing to do that?" Jenna asked

"Yes" Lucas said

"My parents are taking the news pretty hard, and they're pretty much aware of how people felt about Toby, but they still want to give him the proper memorial. Will you and Alton be able to come?" Jenna asked as a moment of silence came between them on the line "And I knew you'd be like the rest" she laughed to herself

"I want to" Lucas replied "I can't speak for Alton though, that's up to him" he said

"But do you think he'd participate?" Jenna asked

"I'll talk to him about it and let you know" Lucas said "When will the memorial be?" he asked

"Next weekend, at the Rosewood Cemetery grounds" Jenna said

"I'll be there, I promise you that" Lucas replied

"Its funny, how I use to remember it always be Alton, Toby, and Lucas then that summer happened and it all went away" Jenna said

"Well Toby pushed us away, there was not much we could do, and when he left that pretty much put the nail in the coffin" Lucas said

"But now that he's dead, do you ever wish or think about what he would've been like if you guys would have been friends?" Jenna asked "I know you've moved on to bigger and better things but you've got to remember the moments that got you there" she said

"I miss him, and I hate what happened" Lucas replied sadly

"And what exactly happened on that boat Lucas? I mean I can run my mind wild with all the possibilities but I have a feeling that only you can answer that for me" Jenna said

"Nothing that I don't regret is all I can tell you" Lucas replied as the silence grew between them

"I look forward to the day when you will tell me, because to everyone he was a monster, but he was my brother" Jenna replied "If you could give me Alton's answer as soon as possible that would be great" she told him

"Is that all you need from me?" Lucas asked

"That's all" Jenna said before she hung up the phone. Ending the call, Lucas could instantly feel himself reliving the moments on the boat where his last moments with his friend were that of fear as opposed to the moments he would have to share at his memorial. Deep down he knew what Jenna said was true, but he feared that the opinions of everyone, who had come to know of Toby Cavanaugh had tainted his own. Looking over at Alton, who was enjoying his banter with Spencer about her organizational skills, he had hoped that maybe this weekend they would honestly discuss how they both felt about what happened on that boat as opposed to avoiding it like they had for the past week. Coming out of the house proudly displaying their snacks that they had created, the rest of the girls made their way out as a sigh of relief came over Spencer that they all had followed instructions well. Meeting up by the car they all gathered as Alton helped assist Aria put the snacks in the truck.

"Okay, I think we're all done" Spencer smiled proudly

"Are we clear for the Spencer departure time?" Hanna joked as she wrapped herself up in Lucas's embrace

"Ha, ha. Without my organization we would all be wandering around" Spencer said

"Or we could have all just done this last night and brought it today so we could have extra time to sleep" Maya replied as the girls looked at her shocked that she stated what everyone else was thinking but wouldn't say to Spencer "What? I was lagging it this morning" she said

"Anyways, you will all thank me once your enjoying the mountain air and are swimming in the lake" Spencer declared "So since the driver I had intended bailed on me without even so much as texting me back, much less even telling me why the hell we can't even have a decent conversation…" she said before Aria cut her off

"Spence, get to the point" Aria said snapping her friend out her babbling as they all looked at her with concerned faces

"Lucas and Alton, you'll be dividing up the driving time, so do we need to go over any technical things involving the truck?" Spencer asked

"Technical? it's a car, its not that technical" Alton replied

"You know, your really starting to annoy me" Spencer replied

"Am I annoying you or stating the obvious corrections" Alton laughed getting the getting the best of her

"I'll go lock up" Spencer said as she turned to leave

"Am I detecting some flirting?" Hanna stated to the group

"I detect and sensor" Maya laughed

"I don't think flirting is on her agenda nor calendar" Alton laughed as he went to go get in on the passengers side of the car

"I've seen interesting things happen" Lucas laughed before Hanna turned to pull him into a kiss

"You haven't seen nothing yet" Hanna smiled as she broke the kiss before pulling him back into another kiss

"At least we know which couple will be groping each other" Aria said

"I'm glad we're not that bad" Maya said as they all looked on at Hanna and Lucas laughing and kissing

"I don't think we'll ever get that bad" Emily replied as they made there way over to the car

* * *

After a six hour road trip and countless "99 bottles of beer on the wall" carols, they were all relieved to finally see and touch the ground after they spent the last hour of the trip listening to Spencer go over the itinerary. Luckily, Alton was brave enough to tell Spencer to just relax and not plan every breath she took for the rest of the day. When they got inside, they all looked around at the oversized cabin that was secluded to just them and only them as more people slowly began to arrive and made their ways to separate cabins that were off in different parts of the grounds. Spencer's parents wanted them all to obey the boys and girls rule, but they knew once they would be flooded with guests, that the last thing they wanted to worry about was where everyone was sleeping, all they knew was if no one turned up pregnant after the trip then they would successfully have gotten away with it. Dropping their bags down in their room, Lucas and Hanna were amazed by the set up of the room and felt like it was some sort of a honeymoon's suite or something. Making sure to hook up the Wii, Alton made it his mission to have the Wii as his outlet, especially if Spencer was going to be barking out orders left and right. Feeling eyes staring him down, Lucas and Hanna couldn't wait until Alton left so they could finally get some alone time.

"Are you almost done?" Lucas asked looking on at his friend stare blankly at an attachment

"I know, I know you want me to go so you guys can bump monkeys" Alton said

"And you wonder why your monkey hasn't been bumped" Hanna replied "Who says that in the first place" she said

"I can tell you've recently lost you v-cards because your anxious to get to it" Alton laughed "I bet its like addicting to you guys now" he turned to look at them knowing that his presence was driving them crazy

"Okay, I think I can hook up the console from here" Lucas said quickly trying to rush him out

"I'll leave, don't worry. What's up with your friend Spencer? Is she always this wound up?" Alton asked Hanna

"She's got a lot on her plate, but otherwise, this is Spencer" Hanna replied

"So beneath the cute and sexy is a whole lot of crazy and neat freak?" Alton asked

"Oh, no. Don't you even think of making a play for her, she's got a boyfriend" Hanna warned him

"That Alex guy?" Alton asked

"Yes, the guy that helped save your ass" Hanna replied remembering to tread lightly with the whole Toby thing in fear of what that might stir up for him

"I thought this was a whole couples retreat then? If so then why isn't he here, she might be more chill if he was" Alton said

"I'm sure she would" Lucas replied

"I'm sure she would, that's all your going to give me. Fine, all right, I'll leave you be" Alton said as he lazily made his way out of the room before Lucas securely locked the door so that he didn't prop it of any sort to get back in

"Is he gone?" Hanna smiled as Lucas made his way over towards her with the biggest of smiles on his face, glad that he had her alone finally as he leaned towards her, laying them back on the bed "You seem like you have a one track mind" she laughed avoiding his kiss

"I've had nothing but a one track mind these past couple of days" Lucas laughed

"I'm glad to see that you see me as an object now" Hanna laughed

"Objectification all the way" Lucas laughed as she pulled him into a deep kiss before he broke away after a few moments had passed between them "Wait, I thought I was objectifying you"

"Well who said I didn't like it" Hanna smiled as he pulled her back in to an intoxicating kiss. Rolling on top of him, Hanna took full control of the situation as she was the first to relieve herself of her top as he looked up at her in amazement wondering how she had gotten so damn beautiful before his very eyes, leaning forward, Lucas began to kiss her shoulder as she started in on his neck while his hands worked their way up from her waste and up and down her back. Wanting no clothing between them, Hanna tugged at his shirt until he finally realized that she wanted it gone and all he could do was oblige her wish. Pulling her back into an intoxicating kiss, Lucas pulled her closer towards him to where she was wrapped up firmly and securely in his arms. The two were totally lost in each other's embrace before they were quickly torn away from it when the side door to their room opened. Lucas quickly jerked, knocking Hanna to the ground accidentally as they looked on in embarrassment

"Hi roomies….Hanna!" Maya said happily as her and Emily had walked in on the two in a very compromising position

"Wow" Emily replied taking in the full picture of her friend and her boyfriend clearly both shirtless

"Hey guys, what are you doing?" Hanna asked as she covered her chest with her shirt while trying to pretend like they were witnessing nothing

"Well we were just walking around trying to find something interesting that wasn't be set up for tonight, but I see we found something else interesting" Maya laughed

"I think I should go check on Alton because he….he might be something" Lucas said as he quickly put his shirt on and hopped off the bed and leaned down to give Hanna a quick kiss on the head before fleeing the room nervously

"Thanks a lot" Hanna replied as she stood up from the floor to sit on the bed

"What? We just wanted to say hey" Maya laughed "Who knew we'd walk in on you two about to get it on" she smiled

"There not getting it on, are you?" Emily asked her friend as Hanna put her shirt back on

"I'm glad that the interesting thing has become my relationship" Hanna said

"I told you something was different about her" Maya told Emily

"What do you mean?" Hanna asked

"You have that glow. The glow of I'm no longer a virgin and I can't wait to jump my boyfriend look" Maya described

"I didn't know there was a look for that" Hanna said

"Well your illuminating with it" Maya said

"When did you two, you know?" Emily asked

"On our re-do first date. That night was just so special and romantic, then one thing lead to another and we consummated our relationship" Hanna said

"So this is big for you, I mean this relationship?" Emily asked

"Yeah, I love him, you know that" Hanna said

"You also loved Sean, what's the difference?" Emily asked

"With Sean it was more of a school girl crush that morphed into love because I was with him and he saw me more than as Hefty Hanna. With Lucas, its like I get nervous every time I'm around him but in a good way, he makes me laugh more than any person I know, he's always there for me even when I don't deserve it at times, and every time we kiss I just feel this spark that I just can't explain" Hanna described

"Wow, you got it bad" Maya laughed

"So do you regret it? Having sex so soon?" Emily asked

"No, because it wasn't sex. To me, that night felt like it was just being together, nothing mattered but us" Hanna replied "In a funny way, it was more like we were making love to each other" she said

"Did you guys use protection?" Maya asked

"Yes, we used every precaution necessary. We made a pact after one of his stupid pacts in freshmen year, you remember Em, we said that when the time comes we would be ready and prepared" Hanna smiled at the fact that her relationship was so mature with Lucas to think ahead

* * *

After nearly getting lost in the oversized cabin, Lucas had made his way through the living room area to make his way outside to join Alton. Just as he was about to open the door to let himself out, his phone began to vibrate continuously until he finally checked to see that it was Jenna texting him. A part of him felt nervous to have her text him because it felt wrong to be a part of someone's memorial when they tried to kill you, he could only imagine how upset Hanna would be if she knew that he was going to the funeral and was possibly speaking. They had attempted to talk about Toby and just how upset he was but Hanna always managed to get nerved up and emotional at the thought of losing him, so he didn't have the stomach to make her go through the worry all over again, let alone share his fuzzy memory of what happened that day. The more and more he thought about Toby, he found himself trying to zone in on what the last thing Toby told him because in his dreams he relived the horror of almost dying but it always went mute when it came Toby sitting above him with blood dripping down his shirt. Unaware that he had become noticeable, Alton quickly opened the door nearly scaring Lucas amongst his thoughts.

"I thought you'd be riding the pony right now" Alton laughed

"Huh?" Lucas asked half paying attention to what his friend had said

"I thought you'd be with Hanna right now, getting intimate" Alton said

"No, uh…she's with Emily and Maya right now" Lucas said as Alton's jaw nearly dropped to the floor in amazement

"She's bi? You never told me? And your standing here? C'mon lets go" Alton said excitedly before Lucas grabbed ahold of his arm to pull him back

"You got the wrong message. Hanna is talking with them, so tell little Alton to calm down and stop thinking…dirty" Lucas scolded his friend

"Hey, you're the one who forgot the info" Alton laughed as Lucas walked outside and he followed behind, making sure to close the door lightly behind him "This place is beautiful" he said observing the beauty of pine trees and the rays of sun sparkling of the lake

"Yeah, it is" Lucas replied

"What's up with you? I thought you'd be more than happy right now" Alton said

"Would you stop talking about my sex life? Its starting to gross me out" Lucas replied

"Okay, I'm sorry" Alton laughed "No, but seriously, what's wrong?" Alton asked

"I, I have to tell you something. Something that I'm not sure your going to like" Lucas said turning to look his friend in the eye

"Okay….what will I not like?" Alton asked

"Just promise me that we can talk about this?" Lucas asked

"Now your acting stupid. What will I not like?" Alton asked

"I got a call from Jenna the other day" Lucas said starting it off slowly to see how he would react

"So are you planning to leave Hanna for Jenna. Is this some sort of unspoken love thing going on because I thought you were pretty happy with Hanna, and why would that upset me….of course we probably get stone walled from the parties" Alton babbled "Wait that would upset me. Don't leave Hanna, I forbid you Luke" he said quickly grabbing on to his friend

"I'm not leaving Hanna" Lucas said breaking free of his embrace

"Then why the sudden urge to talk to Jenna? Is she upset about Toby?" Alton asked

"Yeah, she invited me to the funeral and I accepted" Lucas said as Alton looked on in surprise

"Why would you do that? The guy almost tried to kill us" Alton exclaimed

"The guy? Al, Toby was our best friend" Lucas replied

"Key word in that phrase Luke, was. I think you lose the best friend title when you try to kill your other two best friends" Alton said

"We don't know what he went through, we don't know what got him to that point. All I can remember was that Toby wanted to tell us his side, his side of something" Lucas said

"I don't care about his side Luke? He almost killed us, do you know how many times I literally saw my life flash before me, and now you want to honor him, at this point I don't care" Alton said "And if you were smart, you wouldn't go to his funeral because you know what he did to Em, and I doubt Hanna would like this" he said

"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, but I need to know if my best friend is going to join me in putting our friend to rest" Lucas said

"Your crazy, you are crazy!" Alton yelled "You've literally lost your damn mind. I'm not going, so you might as well text her back and let know" he said

"That's it? Your not even going to think about it?" Lucas asked

"What is there to think about? I know how I feel, and I don't need to do an inner search to discover anything else" Alton replied "You're the one who should think about it" he said

"He doesn't deserve this. No one deserves to go out this way!" Lucas yelled

"Oh, really? Really, Luke? Are you going to be that way?" Alton asked

"Yeah, I'm gonna be that way. Yes, I hate the fact that my last memory of Toby was him losing it, but everyone else all ready thinks the worst of him, I'd like to at least be the one to think the best of him" Lucas said

"I really wish I had your mindset, but you see I can't get there because you have no idea what it's like" Alton said

"And what the hell is that suppose to mean?" Lucas asked

"Who cares? You've made your mind up all ready, so why even bother" Alton said

"I care, which is why I want to at least talk about it" Lucas said

"No, you don't want to talk. You want me to do as you say and follow suit, well I'm not going to do that. I can make my own choices and decisions" Alton said

"What I was hoping was that since we both went through this together, that'd we'd be able to put this to rest and move on because I know that day still effects you" Lucas said

"Yeah, it does, but I'm not ready to honor the guy just yet, and who the hell knows when I'll be able to" Alton replied

"Fine. Whatever? I'm done with this" Lucas replied annoyed with how Alton was acting

"Your done with this? You're the one who brought it up, and now that I haven't given you the answer you wanted, you're done with this. Aren't we quite the prick" Alton replied annoyed

"Why are we still talking then?" Lucas asked

"Way to start a trip off Luke, way to go" Alton said before he walked off angrily

* * *

It was late at night, when they all returned to their cabin, after the black and white dinner all anyone wanted to do out the group was get some shut eye before rising to an eventful day. Lucas hadn't expected Alton to cool down after their argument earlier, but he knew that Hanna would find it strange that the two weren't really speaking, so he made it a point to bring up the fact that Alton was a little sick. He hated that he had to lie to her, but he wanted to tell Hanna on his own time what was going on without her hearing from someone else like with the whole house situation. Though he was able to fool her into thinking that his friendship at the moment was good, he couldn't manage to shake the idea of maybe he was crazy for going to Toby's funeral, all he could think about after his confrontation with Alton was what he should do that was best for him rather than trying to save face. Coming out the bathroom, Hanna joined Lucas in bed and was more than excited to finally have him all to herself. He hadn't been inspired to jump her bones like he had the past couple of days, but that didn't stop Hanna from doing so as she kissed his neck. She had hoped that since she was literally groping him, that he would take the hint that she was ready for some lovin but all he did was sit up, and was lost in thought.

"I've locked all the doors" Hanna whispered to him as she ran her hand across his stomach hoping to inspire him

"Why does everything have to be so complicated" Lucas sighed while Hanna nibbled on his ear but still got no response

"We could uncomplicated it, if you just let me" Hanna told him seductively

"No, I don't see how you could. Everything is just a mess" Lucas replied as Hanna quickly looked at him

"Luke, your girlfriend is trying to be intimate with you in the way that doesn't involve clothes" Hanna told him

"Hanna" Lucas said giving her the look that meant he really wanted to talk to her

"Fine. Fine" Hanna said as she straightened up in bed so that she could give her his attention

"Thank you" Lucas replied as he turned to look at her

"Wait. This won't work, because if I see your neck then I'll want to kiss it. Then that will lead to me wanting to kiss your ear. Then so on until I'm kissing you, the best thing is for me to be sitting in front of you" Hanna said

"Seriously?" Lucas asked her

"Yeah, seriously. Your looking pretty sexy tonight, and you want to talk so I don't want to get distracted from that" Hanna laughed as she gave him a quick kiss before she crawled from her seat to a seat in front of him while she lay back on her arms to look at him "What's going on?" she asked

"I've been thinking about that day on the boat and Toby" Lucas said as Hanna tensed up at the mention of Toby

"What about Toby?" Hanna asked

"I just keep seeing myself on that boat, swaying back and forth. Scared half to death that I might actually die, and in my head I'm just reliving it as it actually happened but then I see Toby above me with blood coming from his shirt and he's trying to tell me something, that's the part I get confused on" Lucas told her

"I really wish that you would forget all things Toby, but I know that he was your friend, I just don't understand why you would want to revisit that day" Hanna said

"I don't know why either, but I just do. I just can't wrap my head around as to why he would do that to Al and I, that wasn't Toby, it was far from who he was" Lucas said

"People change" Hanna replied

"Not like that, not like how he was on the boat" Lucas said

"You know how people reacted to Toby, I mean people literally went to the other side of the street whenever Toby came around. Toby was the outcast of the town, I'm pretty sure that was enough to make him flip out" Hanna said

"Maybe so, but I just feel…" Lucas said before Hanna cut him off

"You feel like your to blame, like if you would have been there for him then he would still be alive" Hanna said interrupting him

"Yeah, is that crazy?" Lucas asked her

"Nothing about what you feel is crazy, Luke" Hanna told him "I remember you told me that Toby wanted to tell you his side, his side about what?" she asked hoping that Lucas would be able to clue her in on what Toby was talking about but knew deep down that he was referring to that summer when Alison was alive

"That's what I'm all trying to figure out" Lucas replied as Hanna crawled towards him

"Well when you figure it out, let me know" Hanna smiled as she kissed him

"I plan to" Lucas told her as he broke the kiss while she got back in her usual spot beside him in the bed as they cuddled up together "So you still…." he asked before she cut him

"You had your chance" Hanna replied quickly as Lucas couldn't help but laugh

"Yeah, yeah, I did" Lucas laughed to himself

* * *

The girls all relaxed in the hot tub, just soaking in the sun rays as they had there moment to finally relax. All the other guests that were up here for the retreat seemed to be overwhelmed with information, while all they did all day was go out to the lake, eat burgers that the kitchen chef had whipped up for them, and just play in the lake again, this was definitely Hanna's idea of some good old fashioned relaxation. Although she wanted to go in full relaxation mode, Hanna knew that they could only escape A for a short time period before she would come back and make their lives a living hell. Deep down she feared more and more what Lucas would remember from what Toby last told him because in her mind there was only one thing that Toby wanted people to know his side of.

"I hear serious thoughts, what's wrong?" Aria asked with her eyes still closed

"Spencer has no books, so its not her. Hanna?" Emily asked

"Very funny" Spencer replied at the digs at her

"I was just thinking about a talk I had with Lucas last night" Hanna said

"Concerning?" Emily asked

"Toby. Guys, I think Toby told Lucas and Alton what happened, but Luke can't seem to remember" Hanna said as they all went from relaxation mode to alarmed and alert

"What does he remember?" Aria asked

"Nothing right now, but he's do his best to remember what Toby said and I think he's getting closer to it" Hanna said "Maybe I should just tell him about what happened to Jenna" she said

"You can't do that, who knows what A will do to us then, she clearly wanted Toby gone and she succeeded in doing that, imagine what she'll do to either one of us" Spencer said

"Yeah, and then it could hurt your relationship with Lucas" Emily said

"If I tell him then he won't be upset, but I don't know how he'll react if he never knows" Hanna said

"But Jenna went blind after what Ali did, and we let her do it, we stood there and watched. We let Toby take the blame for a lot of stuff that could have very well been the reason why he went all crazy and secluded. Do you really think he'll understand that?" Aria asked

"Not when you put it like that, but what's going to happen when Lucas confronts me about Toby's side, then what?" Hanna asked

"He'll never know that you were connected to Jenna and him that summer" Spencer said

"But what if Toby told him?" Emily asked "A lot is riding on what Toby told Lucas and Alton" she said

"Toby was out of his mind, would Lucas really take his word over Hanna?" Spencer asked finding it hard that Toby had clout over Hanna when it came to Lucas

"See, its like one lie after another. I don't want to lie to him" Hanna said annoyed with all the what if they were talking about

"Hanna if you tell Lucas then he becomes like us, under A's spell. If she could get rid of Toby, imagine what she could do to Lucas and Alton" Spencer said

"Does Maya know?" Hanna asked Emily

"I haven't told her anything. I can't risk it, and I don't think you should either" Emily said

"So we just wait until someone figures it out, that's the plan?" Hanna asked wondering when it was all going to end

"That's our only option" Aria said "I know you care a lot about Lucas but this is something that has to stay between the four of us" she said

* * *

Standing in the shallow end of the lake, Alton bent over to pick up a rock to have it skip on top of the water. He continued on with his rock throwing hoping that it would brighten up his mood that he was currently in. Staring off into the open scenery before him, Alton could hear the sounds of water thrashing but found that the water he was looking at presently was as calm as could be. An instant rush of sounds hit him from that day out on the boat to where all he could hear was Toby's voice yelling and Lucas and him pleading with Toby. He could feel himself back on the boat scared out of his mind as his breathing began to speed up to where he was having a panic attack. Turning to walk back to the sand, Alton felt dizzy with each step that he took to where all he could hope for was that he could at least make it back to the cabin. Trying to keep his balance, Alton was quickly joined by Lucas, who could tell that something was wrong with his friend.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked him as Alton just shook his head repeatedly as Lucas grabbed onto his shoulders "Al, tell me what's wrong?" he asked

"Make…..make it stop" Alton pleaded as the sound of a gunshot firing rang clearly in his head forcing him to put his hands up to head

"Make what stop?" Lucas asked

"Make….make….make stop" Alton pleaded as Lucas just held him still for a moment letting him realize that he was still and wasn't moving like he had thought he was

"Your not on the boat, you're here, with me. We're safe, we're good" Lucas said soothingly to him "We're safe" he told him as he began to calm down slowly

"I'm fine" Alton said finally able to control himself "Thanks" he said to his friend

"Panic attacks, why didn't you tell me?" Lucas asked

"Oh, God. Not now Luke!" Alton yelled at his friend

"Fine, but when we get back your going to get help" Lucas said

"I'm fine. What's making it worse is this whole funeral idea you have, its stupid" Alton said

"Yeah, to you, but not to me. I need this, Al. I need to closure for this" Lucas said

"What do you need closure for? He tried to kill us, in my book, he probably needs the closure and when the coffin closes on him, he'll have it" Alton said

"Don't you ever think that he might have been different if we would have been there for him, we were his best friends? Best friends, Al. He should have never ended up like this, no one deserves to die like that" Lucas reasoned

"No one deserves to have their life put in danger! So would you have rather had me talk him out of nearly killing you and let him possibly kill you because I'm a little confused as to what you want" Alton replied "Because no matter what you say, I'm the one killed him, I'm the one with blood on their hands, I killed him! So tell me, what should I have done to make it right with you because regardless of what I do or say nothing is right anymore to me" he said angrily

"I'm not going to force you to go because its clear we're handling this differently, but I can't not go, I have to" Lucas told him "I want us to get past this" he said

"But if I'm doing what you want. Its not going to work like that" Alton replied

"So this is just something we can't talk about then" Lucas said

"I guess not" Alton replied

* * *

Staring up at the stars in the sky, the two were amazed by the beauty that was surrounding them as it was becoming harder and harder each day to leave the cabin behind to return to Rosewood. Laying in between his legs as he sat up to support them both, Hanna felt a wave on content come over her like this is where she wanted to be, that there was nowhere else that could have come close as to appealing rather than being with Lucas. They both were wrapped up in a blanket, completely bare underneath as they took full advantage of their alone time together, knowing that everyone else was back at the cabin probably asleep all ready while they snuck off to go to the lake. A lot was running through his mind on how things just seemed out of control but when he was with Hanna, things felt so in control, like it just made sense to be with her and that nothing else could even come close to being what he would want if didn't have her included in the overall product. It was a feeling of peace for the both of them to know that the other loved them and that each day they were growing more and more in love by the second.

"My grandma use to tell me that stars were made to make people realize that stillness is always needed in life, that it made you feel like the magic still existed in the beauty of something so simple" Lucas told her softly

"I feel it, that stillness with you. I've always felt it" Hanna told him

"I feel the same" Lucas smiled to himself "So if ever we're apart, just know that when you look at the stars, I'm feeling exactly how you feel" he told her

"Anywhere? Or just here?" Hanna asked

"Anywhere" Lucas said as he placed a sweet kiss on her head before she leaned up to kiss him

"Do you know how much I love you?" Hanna asked

"I'm beginning to see" Lucas laughed

"I've never felt this way before, and I just want us to promise each other that whatever we go through, that we'll remember our love for each other above all else" Hanna suggested

"I'll always love you, so that'll never change" Lucas said as he laughed to himself as a thought popped into his head "I loved you since the first time I saw you Hefty Hanna" he said

"Oh, really" Hanna laughed "Wish I could say the same Hermes" she joked as she playfully hit him

"But we're here now, together. I know you've heard it all before, but you don't have to worry no more because I don't plan on going anywhere" Lucas said before he leaned down to kiss her sweetly


	20. Grieve Your Heart Out

**Chapter Nineteen- Grieve Your Heart Out**

The sound of the fan running on full speed rang clearly in his ear as the hot summer months had finally kicked in, but that didn't seem to tear him away from the television screen for one bit. When word had got out that Toby's family were planning on holding a memorial in his honor at the Rosewood Cemetery this weekend, many of the residence of Rosewood took to the city council to protest. Streets were crowded with protesters outside the courthouse with chants of not to let the murderer be barried in their town, it just all became too much for Lucas as he found it harder to escape from it all. There was no use in talking to Alton about it, and Reese was too caught up in her studies to even worry about anything current, then he couldn't exactly tell Hanna because he still hadn't manage to tell her that he was going to be amongst the people attending the funeral. The guest list had been under wraps due to security purposes, but as the days passed, the more he felt like he had to prepare himself for the masses. Sneaking off to the yearbook room to getaway from it all, Lucas still found himself watching the crazieness like an accident on a freeway that he couldn't help but watch. Peaking through the square glass window of the classroom door, Hanna was relieved to have found Lucas as she made her way inside the room, she quickly noticed how lost he was in watching the local news discuss the heated debates of the memorial of Toby Cavanaugh.

"You snuck away to watch this?" Hanna asked pulling her chair closer to his as he still couldn't tear his eyes away

"People hate him. People really hate him" Lucas said almost in a trance like state

"Lucas. Lucas" Hanna called out for him trying to get his attention until she literally had to turn his head towards her "What's going on with you?" she asked

"I just can't believe this, I mean I knew he was an outcast but….this is bad" Lucas said

"Its probably going to get worse when it comes close to the funeral" Hanna said

"Yeah, I guess" Lucas shrugged before his cell phone began to vibrate from a text message. Leaning over to grab his cell phone to hand to him, Hanna noticed Jenna's name on the caller identification

"Jenna is texting you?" Hanna asked "Why is she texting you?" she asked as Lucas grabbed his phone

"Its not what you think" Lucas replied

"Uh, I hope its not. Why is she texting you?" Hanna asked

"Because Hanna" Lucas replied trying his best to work out in his head how he should tell her

"Because….because what Luke?" Hanna asked again

"I'm one of the guests that are going to the funeral. I'm on the list" Lucas said

"The list that is being kept under wraps because of safety reasons. Luke, Toby tried to kill you" Hanna exclaimed

"Yeah, I know. I've heard it all from Alton" Lucas said

"Which explains the silence treatment you two had on the way back from Bridgewood" Hanna said to herself "I get that you want to support Toby because he was your friend but this is your safety we're talking about, people have trashed the Cavanaugh household over this" she said

"I know, and believe me, I'm going back and forth in my head on this one" Lucas said

"Then just text Jenna back and say you can't go" Hanna said

"Its not that simple" Lucas said

"What's complicated about it? I mean I'm not trying to sound bitchy and uncaring, but my first concern is my boyfriend when it comes to this and having your safety be an issue is not a risk I want to take, I've been there and it sucked" Hanna said

"I need to do this" Lucas said

"Why?" Hanna asked

"Because…I need answers. I need the answers as to why Toby took us basically away from Rosewood to tell his side to something I have no clue about, I need answers to why he turned out this way because the Toby I knew wasn't the monster the people are painting him as. I need to get answers" Lucas proclaimed

"And Jenna is going to help you with these answers?" Hanna asked

"Is this some sort of jealousy thing because its not like that" Lucas said wanting to clear that up immediately

"Are you contacting Jenna for these answers?" Hanna asked to make the question clearer

"Maybe, I don't know. She's been busy planning the memorial so she hasn't been able to talk, but we are trying to set something up" Lucas told her

"And the nightmares, are you still having them? Do you remember anything?" Hanna asked

"Bits and pieces, but I'm hoping that Jenna will fill in the blanks" Lucas said

"What about Alton? What does he think?" Hanna asked

"He's not going. He's having a hard time with the fact that he's killed someone, so there's no point in talking to him about it, and Reese is too busy with studying" Lucas babbled before Hanna laughed to herself

"And me, where did I come in on your list of people to talk to about this?" Hanna asked "I mean you've contemplated Alton and Reese, but where was I? if I didn't look at the text, would I have found out the day of the funeral?" she asked

"Are we seriously going to fight about that?" Lucas asked her

"No, I'm just saying" Hanna shrugged "Luke, I love you and I know we have differing opinions on Toby, but you can still talk to me about this" she said

"I just didn't want to put you through this again all because I couldn't deal" Lucas said as he grabbed onto her hand to caress it softly

"I want you tell me, everything" Hanna told him

"I'm sorry" Lucas said as he pulled her into a hug. Gripping on tight to him, Hanna's free hand grabbed onto his cell phone and with her face turned away from him, she was able to look at the text Jenna had sent to him clearly. Pulling away from the hug, Hanna quickly shut the phone and pretended to knock it on the floor

"Oh crap! I'm sorry. I'm all over the place today" Hanna said trying to play if off that she was klutz as he leaned over to pick up the phone and place it back on the table

"Do you want to grab something to eat, I'm starving" Lucas said

"Yeah, that sounds great" Hanna smiled at him weakly as he lead her out of the yearbook room and out into the halls of Rosewood High

* * *

With his hands in his pockets, Alton hung his head low as he walked up the street on his mission to go to the comic book store. Since Lucas and him were barely speaking, Alton had to rely on his feet to get him to point A and B since returning from Bridgewood. He wanted so bad to understand what his best friend was going through but he just couldn't get there, he couldn't manage to see his point even if he tried because at the end of the day he was still angry and upset. Things had seemed to be up and down with his panic attacks to where he was fine one moment and was his usual self but would then go back to envisioning himself on the boat again fearing for his life, he knew that this was getting worse for him but he couldn't admit it yet. Lost in his own lists of problems he was quickly torn from his trance like state by the sound of a car horn. Turning to look over at the sports utility vehicle, he quickly saw Spencer sitting in the car, waving him over as he reluctantly obliged to do.

"Spencer Hastings calling me over, this should be classic. What do you want?" Alton asked her as he got closer to her side of the car

"Nice to see you too. Do you want a ride?" Spencer asked

"I think I want to walk. I have time to kill before the comic book store opens up, so if I walk really slow then I'll be there when it opens" Alton told her

"And I always manage to forget your uniqueness. I can wait with you, I don't have study prep for at least two hours" Spencer said

"You taking a break from studying, this is really classic. I should probably take a picture of this moment" Alton said as he reached for his camera phone and held it up to get a quick snap of her as she held he hand up in protest

"Alton?" Spencer said as he couldn't help but laugh

"I told you this was classic" Alton laughed

"Do you want the ride or not?" Spencer asked

"Why don't you walk with me?" Alton asked

"What? I have a car and I'm driving. Why walk when I can drive you to the comic book store?" Spencer asked

"So you think your too good to walk?" Alton asked her

"I never said that" Spencer replied

"But you implied that since you have car that it made no sense for you to walk, I think you kind of thought you were too good to walk" Alton analyzed

"I offered you a ride not smart ass comment" Spencer said

"And this is me offering you a walk" Alton replied

"Do you have to be such a smart ass?" Spencer asked him

"Do you have to be such a stuck up princess who's a control freak" Alton fired right back at her

"Control freak, you really like insulting me" Spencer said

"Okay, I'm tired of this, I like the banter but its irritable" Alton said as he leaned in to turn off the ignition as he pulled the keys out while she tried to fight him off

"What are you doing? Are you crazy?" Spencer yelled at him

"Get out the car" Alton instructed her as he opened up her car door and held it open for her

"No! I'm not getting out of my car, this could be considered robbery" Spencer told him

"Yeah, well I'll take my chances with the law, plus I think they have their hands full with all the protests going on" Alton replied "Get out the car Hastings and enjoy the hot summer air" he said as she huffed in anger, complying to his wish while grabbing her purse before getting out the car

"See, is it that bad. Your not melting away from being out officially in the summer sun, you might actually like it" Alton said as he closed the door behind her before he began to walk ahead of her before he quickly turned back to see her still standing there "What now!" he asked annoyingly

"You need to lock my car" Spencer replied as he pulled out her car keys from his pocket and locked her car with the clicket

"Happy now?" Alton asked her

"That's the least you could do" Spencer said as she walked over towards him as they began to walk down the street "What's wrong with you? I mean you've been all pissy since we came back from Bridgewood" she said

"You notice me now?" Alton asked her picking up on the fact that she noticed how he was acting

"Lucas and you weren't your usual selves, so yeah, I noticed" Spencer replied

"Things just suck right now for me. I don't have a girlfriend like Lucas to kiss the pain away" Alton said

"What? The lonely nights starting to get to you, if you switch to the right hand it will feel like a stranger" Spencer joked finding her joke quite amusing

"You're a regular comedian, I'm just rolling on the floor on that one" Alton said sarcastically

"See, the ass like comments" Spencer pointed out to him "This is me trying to start a conversation not banter" she stated

"By insulting me, that's not a good conversation starter, not by a long shot. Besides, why do you care about Lucas and me?" Alton asked

"Because Lucas is Hanna's boyfriend, and Hanna is one of my best friends" Spencer replied

"So you care through association, that's nice to know. Well don't worry your pretty little head, Luke and I will work this out, we always do, we just need the time apart to vent. We're like a relationship fight, we need time to be pissed and think, but we'll work it out" Alton said

"Does it have anything to do with Toby?" Spencer asked

"Why don't we change the subject, how is Alex doing? You know your latin boyfriend" Alton said

"Alex is doing good, that's all I can really say" Spencer said

"What, he dumped you? He didn't oblige your commands so you let him go?" Alton asked

"There's the ass in you coming out again" Spencer replied "Can you just be nice?" she asked

"Can you answer the question" Alton laughed "Did little miss perfect get dumped?" he asked

"That's none of your business" Spencer huffed

"Your trying to be in mine, I think I can park in yours for awhile" Alton replied

"Just shut up and walk" Spencer told him as she quickly walked ahead of him

* * *

Laying naked under her sheets, Hanna had done her best to drift off into the same slumber that Lucas was under but found the haunting thought of Jenna running through her mind rampantly. With his arm resting on her waste and his bare chest resting against her back like a fitted puzzle, looking over at the window to see a bit of the sunlight go down, preparing for nightfall, she was just lucky that she was able to take his mind off of the depressing news that was Toby. If only this was someone else, she thought to herself repeatedly, wanting so bad to truly feel sympathetic to her boyfriend, but she found herself torn between being there for Lucas and then trying to figure out what Toby and Jenna want with him, and she can stop him from finding out anything involving A. It was a no win situation regardless because she had to protect Lucas or at least keep him from finding out her part behind Jenna's accident. The more and more Lucas spoke of Toby, the more she began to realize how much Toby was victimized by not only Alison but by all of them as well, if only one of them would have told Alison to not get so upset about the peeping tom, and to just forget about it, maybe Jenna would have her vision and maybe Lucas might still have one of his best friends. Sitting up in the bed unable to take the what if scenarios, Hanna noticed that Lucas had left his cell phone on her side of her bed, grabbing onto his cell phone after making sure that he was still sound asleep, she snuck off into her restroom. Sifting through the text messages, she was glad to see that he was by every means loyal to her as she found no trace of him acting like he was single by any means. Coming upon one particular text, Hanna learned that Jenna did in fact want to meet with Lucas. Beginning to panic over whether she should answer the text for Lucas, Hanna pulled out her cell phone and called Spencer.

"Did you find out anything?" Spencer answered the phone

"Can you get any creepier?" Hanna asked her in a low whisper

"What's with the whispering?" Spencer asked

"Lucas is asleep and I'm in the bathroom, so those to combinations don't spell a trusty girlfriend, and I don't want him to see me" Hanna said

"I suppose. So did you find anything?" Spencer asked her again

"Jenna wants to meet up with Lucas. Why do you think she wants to talk with Lucas?" Hanna asked

"I have no idea, but he can't meet with her" Spencer said

"That's going to be a little hard seeing as he's attending the funeral this weekend, so the two are bound to run into each other" Hanna said

"What? Lucas is on the guest list?" Spencer asked

"I'm just as shocked but not really in some sense. He told me today, so I'm still reeling" Hanna said

"Why do I feel like A has more connections than just Toby out there that can expose us. I mean if its not Jenna then who else do we have to worry about" Spencer said

"So what? You think Lucas is going turn on us or something? Way to have faith" Hanna replied

"Hanna, do you really want to take your chances on that many people finding out. Toby knew and look what A did to him, if Lucas picks up on anything then he's next" Spencer said

"Spence, quit with the whole suspense talk, its really starting to freak me out" Hanna told her friend "What should I do about Jenna?" she asked

"Go talk to her. See what she wants" Spencer said

"And if she wants us to burn in hell, then what?" Hanna asked sarcastically "I'm sure I know what she wants but wouldn't that make us come across as desperate" she said

"Newsflash, we are" Spencer said

"Yeah, well, I'm tired of this suspense game" Hanna groaned "And where were you today? I've been calling you like crazy earlier" she said

"Oh, I was hanging out at the comic store" Spencer said like it was nothing

"The comic store? What were you….Alton" Hanna said before she realized who else would go to the comic book store "Are you two hooking up?" she asked

"God no" Spencer quickly replied "He's too damn arrogant and such a smartass" she described

"I think he's the male version of you, without the horny undertones that he has going on" Hanna said

"I'll forget you even said that" Spencer replied just as the bathroom door quickly opened to reveal a half awake Lucas rubbing his eyes

"Who are you talking to?" Lucas asked his girlfriend hoping that he wasn't seeing things

"I've got to go. I'll call you later" Hanna told Spencer before she quickly hung up the phone

"Is that my phone?" Lucas asked walking over to grab his phone on the sink

"Your phone was ringing, so I grabbed it….I had to go to the restroom and I must have brought it with me by accident" Hanna said "I had my phone on the charger in here, so Spence called and I was close to it" she said

"Who called me?" Lucas asked her as he played with his hair sleepily

"It was from Jenna" Hanna said "Must be about the funeral" she said

"Oh, I'll call her later tonight" Lucas said as he walked over towards her and kissed her temple "Are you all right?" he asked

"Yeah, I'm fine. Its you I'm worried about" Hanna replied as he kissed her softly on the lips before breaking the kiss

"I love you, but I don't think I can pee in front of you" Lucas said

"And I don't think I want you to. I'm going to go downstairs and heat some food up" Hanna said before giving him a quick kiss on her way out of the restroom

* * *

Early the next day, all Hanna could think about was talking to Jenna and figuring out what it is that she wanted to talk to Lucas about. Coming into the coffee shop, Hanna spotted the brunette sitting off in the corner of the shop with her seeing eye dog since Toby wasn't there to guide her, for a moment Hanna thought about flaking out and just letting things come out as they were meant to be, but she was too anxious to just walk away. Slowly approaching the table so that she wouldn't startle the blind girl, Jenna could sense that the presence that was near her wasn't that of Lucas's as Hanna reluctantly grabbed a seat in front of her. A quick smile came to Jenna's face as it was pure enjoyment to have one Alison's covenant sit in nervousness by her when they were at one time to be feared. For a moment the two girls sat at the table silently as Hanna tried to figure out what to say while Jenna just waited patiently for Hanna to just speak up.

"Are we going to continue this way or are you going to excite me with conversation?" Jenna asked breaking the ice

"I'm sorry. I just don't know what to say to the girl who's eager to talk to my boyfriend" Hanna replied

"Aw…I knew it'd come to that. Here I thought you missed me. You think I'm going to tell Lucas about that summer" Jenna said

"That seems to be the pull you have over me, and with Lucas being torn up about what happened to Toby, I'm sure you want to be a friend to him" Hanna said

"And me being a friend would include breaking up his relationship with a social follower" Jenna replied

"Hitting below the belt, that's nice of you" Hanna replied sarcastically

"Does Lucas know you're here, you know, chatting with me?" Jenna asked

"Should it matter? Nice try at the leverage thing, you were hoping that I would say no and remember not to upset you, right?" Hanna replied "I don't control him and I'm not going to try" she said

"Why are you here then Hanna?" Jenna asked tiredly

"Because I need to know if we're past this? If we're past what happened that night so I don't have to constantly worry about the day you plan your revenge" Hanna said

"At this point Hanna, the only thing I happen to be planning is my brother's funeral, and we both know how well that's going" Jenna told her

"Even after what he did to you" Hanna quickly replied not realizing that she had blurted that out "I saw the file. I saw what he did to you" she said moving in closer so that only Jenna could hear her. Taking a moment to compose herself, Jenna did everything she could to remain at ease but found it hard to do so

"He was a good guy" Jenna replied softly

"Yeah, a good guy doesn't take advantage of his blind sister" Hanna replied

"Who made me blind in the first place, I think I was taken advantage of then as well" Jenna replied

"That's different and you know it" Hanna told her

"Look….people do bad things….there is no such thing as a perfect person, so don't tell me there is. I can't necessarily say that what he did to me was completely his fault" Jenna said

"He took advantage of you" Hanna said not understanding how she couldn't be affected by it

"It takes two. It takes two" Jenna said shamefully

"What?" Hanna said surprised to hear her response "Did you? Were you in love with him?" she asked

"I'm not some freak" Jenna replied quickly

"I never said you were a freak, I asked were you in love with him?" Hanna asked her

"He was my brother, my step brother at least" Jenna said

"So that's why you didn't want the files to get out, that's why you told Em to give them back to you" Hanna pieced together "You were in love with him.." she said before Jenna cut her off

"And we were both all ready the town freaks, so why add more fuel to the fire" Jenna said

"Was he your first?" Hanna asked

"I don't think I feel that comfortable to have the so called girl talk with you" Jenna replied

"Sorry" Hanna apologized

"About what you said earlier, I did, but all he wanted to be was normal, and he knew that what we were doing wasn't normal by a long shot. Toby was always the scapegoat in our house, and my dad always lit in on him. Sometimes his dad would get so drunk that he would beat him until he was unconscious, so when Toby got blamed that night for what happened in the treehouse, he was sent away. His dad always thought sending him would get rid of the problem, but it only made things worse" Jenna said becoming emotional "He deserved better because he was truly a good guy, who just wanted to fit in, in this crazy town of if you weren't pretty or couldn't play a sport, you were considered a freak. This funeral was the one normal thing we could give him, and people still want to turn that into a circus event. Our house has bricks flying through windows, hate calls just about every night, but that's his normal, even when he's dead" she said as it all seemed to be a gut check for Hanna to finally realize all that Toby and his family were going through

"And where did Lucas come in?" Hanna asked

"Lucas is the only friend, well Alton and even Emily made that list, the only people that took the time to get to know Toby. What I wanted to discuss with Lucas was my gratitude for his participation, knowing how much flack he'll catch for it after this. I wanted to give him this" Jenna said handing over a battered comic book that had the boys picture of when they were young taped inside

"Lucas looks the same" Hanna laughed to herself as she looked at the picture

"I'm not interested in revenge because you have to live with what you did, and there is no revenge in this world that could surpass that" Jenna said "I want to move on, and give him his peace" she said pointing at Toby in the picture

"You don't hate us?" Hanna asked

"No. I don't. There's enough people in this world that will hate you for the dumbest of reasons, it takes too much energy to hate" Jenna replied

* * *

Sifting through the countless amounts of ties that were separated out accordingly, Lucas had been standing there so long that each color just morphed into the same thing as is whole thought of trying to be productive and pick out his own tie was becoming useless with each moment that passed. In the department store he thought he would find the solace of escaping the outside world but it only seemed to be everywhere he went within the town of Rosewood, which was starting to become pathtic in his eyes, little conversations held between various groups of people would contain some mention of Toby and the latest development in the saga going on currently. Unable to go back to his mindless attempt to be fashion forward like Hanna, Lucas had just chalked his day up to as a complete waste. Quickly turning to leave, he accidentally ran into Emily, knocking the clothes onto the ground. Bending down to pick up her clothes, Lucas felt like a total jackass, a clumsy one at that it seemed.

"I'm so sorry. I should have been watching where I was going" Lucas said nervously

"Lucas its okay, I've had this happen before" Emily laughed

"Really? Your not just saying that to make me feel better?" Lucas asked as they both rose to stand once they were finished gathering her clothes up

"No, I'm not just saying that" Emily laughed "Why are you so jittering?" she asked

"I'm trying to shop. On my own. Without Hanna" Lucas said "I usually buy my share of graphic shirts and blue jeans with the occasional Old Navy sale, but suits and ties are all new to me" he told her

"Hanna is the fashionista of the group. I see your dilemma" Emily laughed at him "If you want, I can help you. My dad is in the military, but he believes in good appearances" she smiled

"Are you sure? I'm not tearing you away from something pressing?" Lucas asked her

"No, I'm all good" Emily laughed as they walked back over to his tie rack and just stood there to look on at the selection "I saw you looking at ties, another special date with Hanna again?" she asked

"I wish it were, but its for something more gloomy" Lucas said

"Gloomy? Then I guess my next question is, do you really need a tie then?" Emily asked

"Yeah, I mean it's a respectful thing, and I need to be as respectful as possible after everything I've done" Lucas said

"Respectful thing and gloomy. Are you going to a funeral?" Emily asked him

"Is it that obvious?" Lucas sighed

"Respectful and gloomy put together with a tie signifies funeral majorly. Is it a family member or is it the person I think it is?" Emily asked

"I'm amongst the freaks that will be attending the circus tomorrow" Lucas sighed "I'll be practically the only one along with his family" he said

"What about Alton?" Emily asked

"Alton is a whole other issue. I don't think he's quite come to terms yet with being the cause of someone elses death" Lucas said

"That's not something you forget, so that's understandable. It seems like your having a hard time yourself?" Emily asked him as she observed Lucas's behavior of sadness

"In some ways. One of my best friends is dead, and I'm about to participate in his memorial that has become the town hot topic. I guess a part of me wants to understand how it got here? How he got so bad?" Lucas questioned

"There was nothing you could do" Emily said

"But I could have tried harder to reach out and be a friend to him, instead I just accepted him wanting to be on his own" Lucas said

"That I can understand. After Alison died, Aria moved away, then Spencer, Hanna, and I just drifted apart….it was like we didn't know each other anymore and we just accepted it that way" Emily said

"What brought you back together?" Lucas asked

"Alison. When the body was found it gave us all closure to know that it was an actual fact that she was dead, but that we were all dealing with the same thing and we didn't have to do it separately anymore" Emily said

"Yeah, but your story has a happy ending" Lucas said as Emily smiled weakly at how far from true that statement was especially with A in the picture

"You can't go back and change things because if so then everyone would want the do over card. Make the most out of the now, and worry about the past later" Emily encouraged him

"You knew him or at least talked to him for a little while, at least that's what was rumored. What was he like?" Lucas asked

"He was sweet and nice. He was a good listener and had good taste in music" Emily smiled at the thought of the Toby she knew "He was a good guy" she said

"I'm glad that you two talked because I know he would have thought the world of you" Lucas smiled

"C'mon, lets pick out this tie of yours" Emily said as she began to sort through possible choices of ties he could wear

* * *

Stirring in her sleep, Hanna had extended her arm out in hopes of cuddling up close to Lucas but found the spot beside her empty. Lifting her head up slowly to get the full visual image of her laying alone in bed, she slowly sat up in her bed to see him sitting at his desk with the lamplight on as he flipped through the pages of the comic book that she had given him earlier. Taking a moment to look at him, Hanna couldn't help but feel for him as she could still see the boy in the picture as she looked on at him. Turning the light off, preparing to go back to bed in hopes that she had awaken but once he got up from his chair she quickly pulled him into a bear hug. Wrapping her arms tight around him, Lucas wanted to act like he was perfectly fine but the tighter she held on to him, he slowly began to break down. Placing sweet and tender kisses on his temple, all Hanna could do was just hold him as she could hear him muffle up tears that he couldn't control.

"I can't…I can't do this" Lucas said pulling away from her embrace as he tried to shake off the tears

"Luke" Hanna said not wanting him to pretend that he was fine

"No, I'm good. I'm good" Lucas said laughing in between the tears "I mean why do I deserve to cry over a monster…I've heard chants and whispers all day long. That picture….that picture was the real him, that was my best friend" he cried

"He's still your best fried" Hanna replied softly

"My best friend tried to kill me, and now I want to celebrate his life!" Lucas yelled in disbelief as he ran his fingers through his hair aimlessly

"Luke, you still care about him. He's still got a place in your heart" Hanna said

"Then why am I the freak? Why am I freak for wanting someone that I'm not even sure how I feel about at this point" Lucas questioned

"Your not a freak!" Hanna replied forcefully "Listen, listen to me" she said walking over towards before grabbing on to his shoulders that he was forced to concentrate on her "People are stupid, and they do stupid stuff just because they can, but how you feel about someone or something doesn't make you a freak. Lucas, you have an amazing, amazing heart and you care with your soul and that's what I love most about you. Who cares if people don't understand your reasonings for wanting to give your friend a proper burial, who cares! What matters is what you feel and what brings you peace to know that at the end of the day you did all you could" she said

"So tomorrow, when I go to this funeral and possibly get anything and everything chugged at me…when its made public knowledge that I went to Toby Cavanaugh's funeral, I want to know that you'll be okay. No, I need to know if this is going to be too much for you?" Lucas asked

"And there's the reason why I love you" Hanna laughed as a single tear strolled down her face "I'm not your concern, you need to be concern about yourself for once" she smiled as she played with his hair as he wiped away the teardrop that fell down her face

* * *

The roaring sounds of screams was enough to jolt anyone out of their saddened state as all they could do was look on with blank faces as they drove in the limo. Gripping on tight to his program, Lucas loosened up his dress jacket as he looked out at the crowd of people that began to shake the car as it had turned into the cemetery, gripping on to Toby's mothers hand, all he could think to do was try to calm her down the only way possible and that was by showing her that not everyone hated her son. Once the car stopped at the site, a police officer escorted them over to the site while the remaining officers drew their weapons just in case things turned violently. Walking arm in arm with Jenna to their seats, Lucas did all he could to block out the names that were yelled at them, but he just felt it harder by the minute to pretend that everything was okay. Just as he was taking his seat, he could see another limo escorted in by the police.

"What's going on?" Jenna asked as she began to panic

"Uh, everything is fine. Everything is going to be fine" Lucas said staring out at the limo as Toby's mother calmed her down

With an officer standing by the door, the car door was quickly opened up to reveal District Attorney Hastings along with Spencer, Emily, Aria, Hanna, and what came as a complete surprise, Alton. A slight smile came to his face as the girls made their way over to the funeral site as District Attorney Hastings, who happened to be Spencer's mother, made her way over towards Toby's mother.

"My deepest apologies go out to you and your family" District Attorney Hastings told her

"Thank you for all that you've done" Toby's mother said

"Everyone deserves the right to grieve in their own way, and I wanted to make sure you guys got your chance. I hope you don't mind my presence" District Attorney Hastings said

"I more than welcome it" Toby's mother smiled

"Thank you" Toby's father thanked District Attorney Hastings as he couldn't help but get choked up by her presence and all that she was able to do for the family

Meeting Lucas halfway on their walk towards each other, Hanna lead Alton over to her boyfriend, hoping that the two would go back to themselves because she knew that Lucas loved her, but she knew how much he needed Alton in his life. Giving Lucas a quick kiss before standing in the middle of the two boys, with his hands deep in his pockets, Alton looked around at the funeral grounds as tears began to well up in his eyes as he tried to avoid looking Lucas in the eyes, but found it hard to do so. "C'mon guys, are we going to draw this out longer than need be" Hanna told them both "Fix this" she said before she walked over to speak to the family

"Your girlfriend is kind of bossy" Alton said

"She gets what she wants, I can't fault her for that" Lucas replied "What brings you here?" he asked

"I thought I'd be apart of the freak show as they call it" Alton said sarcastically as he looked on the crowds of people that seemed to grow at the bottom of the hill form where they were

"Yeah, its pretty crazy out here. I have to admit though, you're the last person I would think would be here" Lucas replied

"I want my closure Luke, I just need it in a different way than you" Alton said

"Whatever reason you have for being here, I'm just glad you're here" Lucas said as the two shook hands in agreement to get past this


	21. Miss Me While Your Away

**Chapter Twenty- Miss Me While Your Away**

Sitting on the bed, Hanna watched Lucas scurry around the room trying to pack a last minute suitcase for his trip up to Winthrop for the weekend as she couldn't help but laugh at how goofy he looked at the moment. Knowing all that he had sacrificed to be with Hanna, when Lucas had received a personal invitation from Mr. Smith to attend a benefit dinner that the school was throwing, she knew that was his attempt to get Lucas to reconsider Winthrop again. Although she wasn't crazy about the fact that he could possibly leave, but she knew that she had to support him and encourage him like he did for her, so without any questions asked, Hanna made Lucas plan for his weekend in Winthrop by purchasing a train ticket that was non-refundable so he could cash it out, even though she knew he would never do something like that. Hearing the door open from downstairs, Hanna knew what that arrival meant and what it was going to mean for her stomach. Leaving Lucas behind to pack his suitcase, Hanna swiftly made her way downstairs to join Alton in the kitchen for Lucas's mothers famous pecan pancakes.

"I thought I was the only one who knew about this" Alton said as Hanna grabbed a plate from the cabinet

"I'm dating her son, I think I would be let in on the up and up of why you come over so much" Hanna replied as Lucas's mother placed four pancakes on her plate

"I come over for the company" Alton replied

"That's a lie" Lucas's mother laughed as she gave him four pancakes as well before he joined Hanna at the kitchen table

"Ha" Hanna laughed at Alton

"Aren't you suppose to be helping Luke pack for Winthrop, isn't that your girlfriend duty?" Alton asked her

"Lucas is just about done, now all he needs to do is just pack the personal items" Hanna said

"I'm so thrilled that he's going off to a fancy benefit dinner" Lucas's mother smiled proudly at the thought of her son

"Hopefully he'll have a good time" Hanna replied

"He will, Winthrop is a amazingly beautiful" Alton declared

"Well, I won't take the chance of him being in hunger. I've packed a weekends worth of food" Lucas's mother said as she showed his lunch pale

"He's not going off for a month, goodness, this is like you and over cook mode" Alton replied at the quantity of food that she gave him

"I'd be happy to lighten that for you, if need be" Hanna smiled as Lucas came prancing down the staircase with his suitcases in hands not the least bit surprised to see that his girlfriend and best friend had abandoned him for some of his mother's pecan pancakes "Hey Luke" she said cheerfully as she tried to hide the fact that she was eating away

"Save it, too late" Lucas replied as he joined his mother in the kitchen being sure to give her a kiss on the cheek before even thinking to grab a plate "This looks great mom" he said as he put four pancakes on his plate

"Are you all packed?" Hanna asked him

"I'm all packed up, just about ready to go" Lucas smiled

"I really wish you were staying because from what I've heard, Mona is throwing a kick ass fourth of July party" Alton told them

"Watch your mouth, we don't say ass unless its necessary" Lucas's mother said as she sipped on her cup of coffee

"Oh, its necessary in this situation. These fourth of parties are legendary, you could go in a virgin and leave a new man" Alton praised "I for one am planning to me amongst the deflowered virgins" he declared

"This is really a conversation I shouldn't he listening to, seeing as you disturb me enough as is" Lucas's mother said grabbing her paper and coffee to head upstairs to her room "Come by the room when you get ready to leave Luke, and don't forget to call your dad" she said on her way up the stairs

"Mona's parties aren't as crazy as you may think, from someone who helped plan and gone to them" Hanna said

"Your just jealous that your market card has been swooped up and can't enjoy the festivities like you once could" Alton laughed

"Shut up" Hanna told Alton as she hit him in the arm

"Please tell me your not going to this party? I mean your market card is picked up, right? Or is it like a discount type of thing with all the coupons" Lucas asked her

"I'm not going. Mona and I are no longer on speaking terms, so me attending her party would give the wrong idea of what we really are" Hanna said

"Especially with Mona being the new queen bee" Alton stated as Lucas just looked at him "What? Like she doesn't know" he reasoned

"No, I'm good. Mona was always into following the crowd, if I was the so called queen bee then I wouldn't be sitting here with you two losers" Hanna smiled

"Maybe Spencer could go to this party, get the stick taken out of her ass" Alton suggested

"Spencer, no. Spencer will most likely be curled up with a nice S.A.T prep book or one hundred things you need to know about Yale" Hanna laughed

"Well beats the uptight persona she has going on" Alton said

"Why is Spencer of concern to you?" Hanna asked with the biggest of smiles on her face

"No reason, just thought since we were into the blending of social crews that we would all be one big happy family" Alton said

"Okay, do you really have to discuss all the things that your going to do while I'm away. That almost makes me want to not…" Lucas said before Hanna cut him off

"Your going. If I have to drag you, your going" Hanna said not even tearing away from her pancake eating

"Okay. Well I'm going to call my father, may you get you both get your party on without me" Lucas said as he made his way up the stairs

"I'm not going babe" Hanna said

"I will" Alton said happily "No more Mr. Virgin" he sang in a melodic tone

"That right there, is the sole reason why you'll still be a virgin after the party" Hanna laughed as she got up from the table to clean her plate in the kitchen

"I will be a new man, I guarantee that. A new man is what I shall and will be" Alton declared as all Hanna could do was laugh at his declaration

* * *

Glad to finally be off the entrapment of a train, Lucas thanked his lucky stars to be on pavement once again. Dragging his suitcase along the walkway, he was relieved to see Mr. Smith resting up against his convertible waiting for him to arrive. Making his way over to help the young boy, Mr. Smith couldn't hide the happiness to see his young protégé finally take his offer to at least experience what life could be like at Winthrop for at least the weekend. Loading Lucas's stuff into the trunk, Lucas couldn't help but get lost in the scenery that was the town of Winthrop, it was like being in a movie, where the young and eager boy got lost in the beauty of college and all that it had to offer. Once they were both in the car, Mr. Smith wasted no time pulling out of the train station and onto the open road, in fear that Lucas would change his mind after one ounce of wondering what his girlfriend was up to back at home, Mr. Smith wasn't going to take that chance.

"Remind me again why you pretend that you're a low income teacher back at Rosewood? Because it would be hard for me to be separated from this car for long" Lucas laughed as he checked out the features of the car

"I choose to separate my life, nothing is wrong with that" Mr. Smith replied

"Oh, no. Nothing is wrong with that, but why would you?" Lucas asked him

"Because, its fun" Mr. Smith laughed

"So I think Hanna should get your approval because she basically made me come this weekend" Lucas declared over the rushing winds

"I like Hanna, I never disliked her" Mr. Smith said

"You could have fooled me, I thought you were going to get rid of her at some point" Lucas laughed

"I just want you to be smart about your future. Love is great, but you have to make sure it's the real deal kind of love before you start sacrificing everything" Mr. Smith

"Well, I love her and that's what matter right now" Lucas smiled

"Can't knock a guy in love" Mr. Smith said "So are you excited about this weekend?" he asked

"Yeah, but what exactly is this benefit for?" Lucas asked

"Basically a reason for the wealthy to get drunk and spend money over stupid stuff" Mr. Smith described "Oh, and I forgot to mention that you will be featured on a panel of prominent students" he said as Lucas's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets in shock

"What? I'm not prepared to be on a panel. Let alone talk about my software" Lucas said

"Your ready Luke. This will be good for you, I promise" Mr. Smith laughed

"Easy for you to say because you won't be the one up there looking like a fool" Lucas said

"You'll be fine, I guarantee it" Mr. Smith said "Just think of all those wealthy people who just want to make a quick dollar, and how you'll make them eat every word you say" he said

"Wealth and me, that's two things that have never gone together. That check you gave me is slowly dwindling down to nothing with all the costs I've had to bear over the proposal, and lab time I had to purchase" Lucas said

"When do you have the lab booked?" Mr. Smith asked

"I have it booked for the beginning of August, that's the only time that was available" Lucas said

"I'll make a few calls and get your money back. You can use the lab over on campus grounds, and save the money for your presentation" Mr. Smith said

"So this is you flexing your name on this one, huh?" Lucas laughed "Oh, and before I forget…thank you for what you did" he said

"What did I do?" Mr. Smith asked

"For buying the house, it meant a lot to me and Hanna" Lucas said

"I didn't do it to keep the love alive, I did it to keep you focused, and because I had someone look into Hanna's father" Mr. Smith said

"Oh, and what did you find?" Lucas asked intrigued

"Enough evidence to know that he doesn't take care of his responsibilities" Mr. Smith smiled

"Here's to one hell of a weekend" Lucas smiled joyfully

"Here's to one hell of a weekend" Mr. Smith laughed as he increased his speed to let Lucas have the full experience of the convertible

* * *

Alton had high hopes that he would be able to make it through one weekend without Lucas be around, and at first he was doing okay with his lone ranger status but after three hours had passed of Lucas no longer being in Rosewood, he realized boredom was slowly kicking in. A few times he had ran through his mind to call Reese and see what she was up to, and he found himself actually dialing the number but luckily his prediction of him quickly getting annoyed of her as well always prevented the phone from ringing on either side. Sitting off near the window in the café, Alton had gathered up a bunch of his comic books and began to read them while sipping on a nice cold soda. He found some enjoyment of reading his once favored comic books but knew it would only last for so long before the feeling of boredom would sink back in eventually. Realizing that he had ran out of soda, Alton got up from his seat to go up to the counter, Mona's party flier had caught his attention while he waited for his drink to be refilled and just as he got caught up in the details of the flier, Mona walked into to the café, laughing at him as he looked on at her flier.

"Don't even bother showing up" Mona told him as she walked over towards him

"Public space, I would think it would be a public party" Alton replied

"Your using up public space, and no, your not coming to my private party" Mona said "What would even give you the idea that you'd be welcome?" she asked

"Hence the public space reference I just said" Alton said

"Do you really think just because Hanna has plead temporary insanity by dating Hermes, that that would make you welcome amongst the popular?" Mona asked

"No, I just….forget it, your right. Temporary insanity has come over me" Alton replied as Mona and her friends laughed at him

"Such a loser much" Mona laughed just as Hanna and Emily made their way inside the café to see the scene between Mona and Alton "You can have the flier now because I'm sure you've contaminated it" she laughed at him

"Mona! Knock it off" Hanna said coming to Alton's defense "What the hell is your problem?" she asked

"What are you the geek rescuer now?" Mona asked

"In what reality do you live in now, where you think its okay to talk to people like that?" Hanna asked "What makes you better than him?" she asked

"I really don't think we should get into that topic" Alton whispered to Hanna

"Nothing, she's just bullying him because she can" Emily said as Mona quickly turned her attention towards her surprised to see that Emily was speaking out against her

"This is classic, Emily ganging up on me, but then again she might want to kiss me" Mona replied as her friends busted into laughter

"Shut up Mona" Hanna replied

"Or else what? You make all these threats and think your better than me, but the reality is that you're a nothing now. Your days as queen bee are over" Mona said

"Well if I have to act like you then I sure as hell don't want the crown because its hardly fitting that big head of yours anyways" Hanna said

"Nice comebacks, but too bad that's all you'll ever have except a comeback to what Alison prepped you for. I can imagine what Alison is thinking now, she wasted all her time trying to make you a spitting image of her, and it almost worked, but you threw it away all for Hermes, and we know how she loathed him" Mona said trying to goat a response out of Hanna

"You don't know what the hell your talking about" Hanna said moving in closer towards Mona, showing that she wasn't backing down for one bit against her

"C'mon, lets just get out of here" Alton said grabbing on to Hanna's shoulder

"You've turned into exactly what Alison hated, pathtic" Mona said "Oh, and your looking a little chubby these days, more to love I guess" she joked before Hanna nearly pounced on her but Alton had pulled her back before she could even get a good grip on Mona

"Just go Mona" Emily said

"You know what, I think I will, because unlike all three of you, who had nothing better to do than support the person who murdered your friend, I have better things to do with my popularity" Mona said

"You and your popularity are going to have something in common all right because their both about to get a hit" Hanna threatened

"Make threats all you want, but you'll never be queen bee" Mona said

"Bring it on bitch" Hanna replied "I made you, and I can destroy you" she threatened

"Now who's full of themselves" Mona laughed "I'd like to see that" she said as her and her friends left the café just laughing at Hanna's threats

"Okay, what was that all about? Your giving threats now?" Emily asked Hanna as she followed her over towards a table

"Yeah, Em. Mona has gone too far now" Hanna said annoyed with even the mention of Mona

"All because of me, that's thoughtful of you" Alton said becoming flattered by Hanna's need to defend him

"No, not because of you. Mona is trying to stick it to me everyway she can. On her face book page she's bashed me in every form she could" Hanna said

"And here I thought we had an ounce of friendship between us" Alton laughed to himself

"Alton" Hanna said

"I think I was about to witness my first girl fight, and strangely enough I would have found that a huge turn on" Alton smiled

"Alton" Emily replied

"Like you don't get turned on by some girl fights" Alton said finding that hard to believe from Emily "So your telling me that if Angelina Jolie and Megan Fox threw down over Megan Fox grabbing the last white tank top that was soaking wet and she had to cover her bare chest, and Jolie had to fight her to get back to the school bus of kids she has, you wouldn't get turned on" he narrated as he imagined it all in his head while both Hanna and Emily looked at him in wonder of how he came up with this scenario

"You seriously need Lucas more than I ever thought you did" Hanna replied

"Maybe" Emily muttered under her breath so only Alton could hear her before she turned back to look at Hanna "This is all over a face book status?" she asked

"No, I'm just tired of catching crap from Mona of all people" Hanna said "She needs to be knocked down a peg or two" she said

"And how are you going to knock her down, and will you need a pool full of whipped cream for this task?" Alton asked before Hanna slapped him upside the head

"Focus" Hanna told him

"Its not like we can stop Mona, the best way to deal with Mona is to just avoid her" Emily said

"Yeah, if we were dealing with someone who was normal, but this is Mona, she eats and sleeps her popularity status" Hanna said

"So what, are you planning to do. Throw a retaliation party or something" Alton laughed to himself like Hanna had lost her mind or something but she turned to him with the biggest of smiles on her face

"That. Is. A. Great idea" Hanna smiled "I could throw a party on the exact same day that she's throwing her party" she suggested

"This is crazy. This is a knee jerk reaction from seeing her" Emily said

"How? We can see who exactly is popular. You know since she's the queen bee and all" Hanna said

"And your really serious about this?" Alton asked her

"Yes" Hanna replied

"I like it. I really like it" Alton smiled "I'm in…wait, I am invited to your party, right?" he asked her

"Of course. My party will be all accepting" Hanna smiled proudly

"How are you going to get everyone to go to your party? Mona has been advertising this party since the last week of school. You have one day to pull off a miracle" Emily said

"Well I have Aria, Spencer, Alton, Maya, Alex, and you coming….that's a good start . I welcome the challenge Em" Hanna said

"I hope you do because I'll be impressed if you pull this off" Emily sighed as both Hanna and Alton smiled proudly at their set out challenge to bring down Mona once and for all "You two are crazy" she laughed

* * *

With the welcome party in full swing, Lucas quickly saw that Mr. Smith was telling the truth when it came to the rich people that loved to drink the wine and shell out the money. Lucas did his share of schmoozing with many of the party goers, making Mr. Smith proud that he was actually enjoying himself rather than playing the shy boy, stepping out onto the balcony for some fresh air as he knocked back a bottle of water. Tossing the bottle into the trash can that was tucked away in the corner, Lucas quickly spotted a young woman standing off by her lonesome looking out at the night sky. Surprised to see that someone else was out there, the young woman turned to him but was somewhat relieved to see that it was Lucas, she was relieved as if she knew Lucas for some reason. Rising to her feet, the young woman quickly extended her hand out to Lucas to introduce herself to him.

"Beth Parker" Beth introduced herself "You must be Lucas Gottesman, my uncle talks about you all the time" she smiled at him as he shook her hand

"And your uncle is?" Lucas asked her

"Gavin Smith" Beth replied "He's like your biggest supporter" she laughed

"Yeah, and my biggest critic in both business and personal aspects" Lucas laughed "So which brother is your father? I'm new to this whole other life of Mr. Smith, I'm just now meeting Gavin" he asked her

"Well my mother is the oldest, and her younger brothers are my uncles" Beth said

"Another new fact that I'm learning" Lucas smiled "So is this a boring party that you have to attend?" he asked

"Something like that, I'm newly enrolled at Winthrop, like I had any other choice of where to go" Beth laughed

"When its in your family, yeah, you really have no other options. I'm considering Jamestown and Mr. Smith is doing all he can to get me in, and then transfer over" Lucas laughed as Beth couldn't help but laugh at her uncle's attempts

"Well you really should consider coming to Winthrop, I mean not a lot of people can say they have a Smith within their midst" Beth said

"Are you trying to recruit me?" Lucas asked

"Don't flatter yourself, I've got my share of brain power here, I just respect prospective ideas that could change data entry as we know it" Beth said

"You make me sound like the uber dork when you say it like that" Lucas replied at her statement "What are you into?" he asked

"Engineering" Beth replied

"Interesting" Lucas smiled

"Well I should probably head back inside before my mom starts to freak out that I'm not schmoozing enough" Beth smiled

"Yeah, I should head back inside as well" Lucas smiled

"Are you staying in the halls?" Beth asked

"No, I'm staying over at your uncle's, since I'm not technically a student I can be his houseguest without penalty" Lucas said

"Oh, then I would say I'll see you around but then I'll just see you on Sunday" Beth smiled

"For what?" Lucas asked

"Sunday breakfast, it's a regular for the Smith family, you'll face the real critics on Sunday for sure" Beth smiled "Bye Lucas" she said before she went back inside

"Winthrop is interesting" Lucas smiled to himself

* * *

Tiredly coming down the staircase, Hanna felt like she hadn't gotten an ounce of sleep from the night before after calling everyone within her calling circle to tell them about her party, most of the people she had talked to were either going to Mona's party or were on the fence about if they were going but were going to consider going to Hanna's if they had to, although she got some definite responses, she worried that her plan to overthrow Mona was coming to a shocking realization that maybe her popularity had taken a hit. Hanna loved Lucas with all her heart, but a part of her felt like her popularity was another facet of her life that made her feel like she was in the glory days of her high school years, she wasn't smart or rebel enough like the rest of her friends to think beyond high school, these days were it for her. What the themes were going to be for Homecoming, Prom, and Formal all mattered to her, she knew that wasn't important but deep down it really was important to her and she knew that Mona knew that aspect of her. When she was finally able to manage some time to call Lucas she stayed up what was left of the night talking to Lucas, who seemed to be enjoying himself up at Winthrop, which she relieved to hear because then she wouldn't feel so guilty about throwing a party to get back at Mona, in her head she could hear him telling her to take the high road and forget about her, but payback was in need and it needed to visit Mona. Walking past the kitchen, Hanna could hear her laptop beep, which signaled that she had received an e-mail and it was alerting her to that fact. Opening up her e-mail, she was surprised to see that she had over five thousand e-mail in her inbox all labeled from yesterday around late in the evening. Clicking open one of her e-mails, she quickly read the message, before she was quickly torn away from the knocking at her door.

"Oh, you" Hanna said realizing that it was Alton on the other side

"Nice to see you, too" Alton smiled as he quickly rushed in with his laptop in hand "Have you checked your e-mail?" he asked her

"Not really, but I have noticed that I have over five thousand in my inbox from last night. Either my spam box just took a vacation and wants me to sift through my crap or something major has happened" Hanna said as she put on a pot of coffee to brew

"I really think you should look at it" Alton smiled

"Why? What did you do?" Hanna asked as she walked over to her laptop to click into the e-mail "Count me in" she read "Is this a party confirmation?" she asked him

"From J-Boy28 it looks like, what's their real name?" Alton asked as he looked at the e-mail

"Justin Goodman. I know him, he's in my English class. I never called him, did you call him and tell him the news?" Hanna asked

"Not really. I kind of did my own advertising for the party" Alton said

"What kind of advertising?" Hanna asked pouring herself a cup of coffee before she joined him at the kitchen counter

"Just realize that I used my skills to get us attendance and the ultimate goal is to beat Mona" Alton said

"Okay, get to the point Alton" Hanna said before her cell phone began to vibrate next to her "It's Spencer" she said checking her caller identification before she answered the phone

"And like the cock blocker I always knew she was, here she calls" Alton said to himself

"Hey, what's up?" Hanna answered the phone ignoring Alton's comment

"Have you checked you tube?" Spencer asked

"No, I just woke up people. I'm trying to plan a party in record time with no time to spare, I do need sleep" Hanna declared to both Spencer and Alton

"Check it" Spencer said

"Under what?" Hanna asked

"I think I can help you with that" Alton said as he slid his lap top in front of her so she could see the video.

Tilting her head to the side to see what exactly what she was looking at, Hanna quickly drew back in disgust once she realized that it was porn movie clip that she was watching. For the two minutes that it was allotted, all she could see was the girl bouncing up and down on the guy, with loud moans filling her ear drums. Giving Alton a death defying glance, Hanna looked back in time to hear the moans edited out with the advertisement of her party with the slogan of come and get laid at Hanna's fourth of July party added in. The video ended with a final text advertisement of Hanna's fourth of July party and fireworks exploding as the backdrop. "Are you serious?" Hanna quickly turned to ask Alton

"Hey, I did this to help you. Remember, beat Mona is the goal" Alton told her

"With advertising my party through porn. What happened to the old fashion way of paper and clever print?" Hanna asked "This is disgusting even for you" she said putting Spencer on speakerphone in hopes of trying to find a way to clear up this catastrophe

"What do you expect from him" Spencer laughed

"Hey, if anyone needs to get laid, its you" Alton fired back at Spencer "Hanna, you have less than a couple of hours to throw a party that will hopefully dethrown Mona, do you really want to waste time being upset about a stupid video?" he asked

"I have over five thousand people coming, expecting to get laid Alton. I'm not some pimp or something" Hanna said

"You don't have to pimp out anyone. Once guy see's girl then they'll do that all on their own, and it helps if you have alcohol, that always decreases morals" Alton said

"Wow, your getting more pathtic by the minute" Spencer said

"Okay, well do you want to waste time and tell all the five thousand people who are planning to attend your party that they can't come because this is too much for you to handle" Alton said

"First off, she doesn't have five thousand people house, and second, do we even know all of these people? They could be from God knows where trying to get laid apparently" Spencer proposed

"Spencer is right, I don't have room for that amount of people" Hanna sighed

"And my second point right?" Spencer asked

"Spence, at this point, I could care less who comes, the space is what I have to worry about" Hanna replied

"Ha, I won" Alton said happy that he got through to Hanna as opposed to Spencer

"I'm still pissed, but we're desperate and you made a desperate move that I'm ashamed to admit that I appreciate greatly, but no more porn" Hanna said

"Okay, now for the space, I think I may have an ideal as to where we could hold the party that might be perfect, but I might need you Hastings" Alton said

"Forget it, I want no part in your disgusting plan" Spencer replied

"And she's your best friend, I'd reconsider" Alton whispered to Hanna

"I heard that ass" Spencer yelled

"Could you be any more of a prude. Just do this to help Hanna, your good name won't get tainted" Alton told Spencer

"Spencer, will you just listen to him. We'll sanitize after the party is over with, but we're in his hands right now" Hanna said

"Thank you for the somewhat compliment" Alton smiled at her

"Fine, whatever" Spencer agreed

"Pick me up at Hanna's in fifteen" Alton said

"Fifteen what?" Spencer asked

"Minutes. What'd you think I meant? What seconds? That's not even possible" Alton replied

"Ughhh…Hanna, you owe me big time" Spencer said before she hung up the phone

"Spencer is going to kill you" Hanna told him

"I can handle the ice princess. Now with this whole porn thing, do you think I can stop maybe tomorrow after the party or so?" Alton asked

"What?" Hanna asked

"I just have a couple or maybe one thousand titty jello shapes being delivered today to my house for the party" Alton said as Hanna just shook her head in disbelief

"Go, before I regret having any part in this" Hanna said before Alton grabbed his laptop and made his way outside the house

* * *

Finishing up his lab time, Lucas sat in front of computer, looking over all of his work before he would finally save and print the progress he's made on the software. Back at his photo gallery he always felt like he was trying to create an office out of nothing, in his mind he always felt like he couldn't take away something that was meant to be for his grandmother and grandfather. Lucas had high hopes that one day that his grandmother would teach him all the recipes she knew so that one day he could fix up the gallery and turn it into a gallery and a restaurant. Being at Winthrop, in the lab, he felt like he was some sort of braniac that was doing something important for once in his life. Gathering all his work together as he prepared to head back to Mr. Smith's place to wash up and call Hanna, he was quickly joined by Beth, who seemed eager to get into the lab herself. Once again she was surprised to see Lucas, but then again it wasn't surprising that her uncle would give him full access to the lab.

"The Smith name at it's best. He cut my time for you?" Beth said finally realizing why Lucas was able to get lab hours that were booked beyond belief

"What? I had no idea" Lucas quickly replied

"Its okay, I mean you're the prize that he's trying to catch" Beth replied before she realized how rude she was being "I'm sorry, I'm just having a tough morning" she said

"Sorry" Lucas said

"For what?" Beth asked

"For the tough morning" Lucas said

"Thank you, but I should have seen this coming" Beth said "And I was hoping to drown my problems in some much needed work" she said

"Uh oh, a future workaholic in the making" Lucas laughed "What's the problem?" he asked

"I don't think I should share my problems with you, that'd be….weird" Beth said

"I've heard weirder things" Lucas said

"Scratch weird, it's dumb" Beth said

"I highly doubt anything you feel is dumb, remember you've got your own brain power working for you" Lucas smiled

"My boyfriend and I made it official last night, we've officially broken up" Beth said

"Oh, the dreaded break up. That does suck" Lucas said

"Yeah, well I was delusional to think that it'd work for us. It was a high school thing that I should have left at that, just high school" Beth said

"You believed it would work, that doesn't make you delusional" Lucas siad

"I'm going to Winthrop and his idea of college is the local community college" Beth said

"What's wrong with that?" Lucas asked

"What I view as stressful and important, he won't. Winthrop isn't just some university, its designed to put you in the working force and hopefully a millionaire if your really good" Beth said

"So by you choosing Winthrop, that doomed your relationship, I hardly doubt that" Lucas said

"Maybe not, but it was a big part in it. What I viewed as important, he didn't anymore. It was just high school, and I have come to realize that" Beth said

"You make it sound so tragic, like it was doomed from the beginning?" Lucas asked

"Maybe because it kind of was, I could only rebel so much against what people were telling me" Beth said "Before the truth finally swooped in unexpectedly" she said

* * *

With enough time to spare, Hanna and Alton were able to put together a successful party that accommodated all four thousand of the people that had showed up. In a big way, Alton had come through for Hanna, and it was priceless to see Mona's face as she realized that not only was Hanna throwing the biggest party, but most of their peers after watching the you tube video had decided to check out Hanna's party instead of Mona's. It was a full out effort from everyone with Maya calling in favors from her friends in New York, who knew a couple of disc jockeys in town that would spin for free as long as they were fed, and Spencer was able to get a favor from one of her mother's staff to consider the event a town event so the police wouldn't make the party abide by curfew rules, and with Aria's ability to do all things artsy, she was able to put together a banner that would make the party legit as a town event though the titty jello's confused a few of the elderly people who came. Looking on at everyone from a far, Hanna couldn't help but be happy that most of the party goers were hailing her as the queen bee of parties like it used to be.

"How were you able to pull of getting a space like this? I mean this looks like the port that used to house all the ships that come in throughout the night" Aria asked Hanna

"That's all Alton's deal" Hanna said passing the glory to him

"The guy that owns this property, I used to do his taxes and lets just say he's cut a few corners when it comes to paying, and I knew exactly which corners he cut. So he let me rent out the space for two hundred dollars" Alton said

"Hence the five dollar fee" Hanna realized why they were charging at the gates

"We've made more than two hundred to cover the money you put out, what's the rest for?" Emily asked

"I hope its not for anymore videos" Spencer said

"No, its not. It's divided up so that they could be put into some of the club funds at school" Alton said

"On behalf of swim club, we're grateful for the tit jello shots" Emily laughed

"I always knew you were a breast girl" Alton laughed

"Then what was Spencer needed for?" Hanna asked "You needed Spencer earlier this morning" she told him trying to refresh his memory

"Oh, I showed the guy my video, and I told him that Hastings here was going to devirginize me. I told him to consider this helping me into manhood by letting me throw the party" Alton laughed as Spencer quickly hit him on the arm

"No wonder he kept staring at me like I was crazy or something" Spencer said as the girls just laughed at their banter

"You were flattered, and you know it. You were finally looked upon with gazing affection, you should be lucky that he considered you worthy to be with me" Alton said

"Worthy, he looked at me like I was crazy, I hardly consider that worthy" Spencer replied

"Oh God, get over yourself. You need a beer, lets get you a beer" Alton said leading Spencer off to the keg as Aria, Emily, and Maya followed behind them unable to control their laughter with the constant banter between the two

"This looks pretty amazing" Noel told Hanna as he handed her a beer "You look thirsty" he smiled at her

"I thought you would be at Mona's?" Hanna asked

"After that video, I thought it was clever the lengths you would go to just to beat Mona, I had to come" Noel laughed

"The video was not my brain child" Hanna laughed

"Where is the boyfriend?" Noel asked

"He's at school" Hanna said

"School?" Noel laughed "Okay, I'll pretend to understand why your boyfriend is at school instead of enjoying summer with his smoking hot girlfriend" he said

"While I appreciate the compliment, I made him go" Hanna said "This is for his future" she said

"So are you planning to go to school next weekend or something? Since your into future plans apparently" Noel asked

"Your funny, I think your cut off on the alcohol content" Hanna laughed

"This is you, Hanna. Mona trying to be queen bee is so annoying, and over thought" Noel said

"How is it over thought?" Hanna asked

"Its like she's trying so hard to be something that we all know she isn't, but you, you know your peers, and its natural for you. This isn't the only kick ass party you've thrown, I remember others that got hot and heavy a few times" Noel said

"I never cheated on Sean, so the parties your referring to don't matter" Hanna said

"Yeah, you never cheated exclusively, but you've made me rethink my crush on Aria a few times" Noel laughed

"That's all in your mind" Hanna laughed "Who ever came up with this stupid queen bee title anyways, its stupid" she said

"Like you don't know. You were only best friends with her for the longest" Noel said

"Alison. That's right, I forgot" Hanna laughed "Ali was all about appearances, I should know, since she made me live up to them" she said

"Well she's a thing of the past, and you're the future. I think the word queen will be in your future for quite some time, and Mona can't stop that" Noel said as he moved in closer towards her

"That's if I want it" Hanna said

"Oh, you want it. I know you do, I see it in your face. This is you, its always been" Noel smiled as they were nearly inches away from each other

"You know what I love about popularity" Hanna whispered in his ear as he nearly lost his mind thinking of all the things he wanted to do to her at this point, as their bodies nearly collided

"What's that?" Noel asked her as he ran his hand over her shoulder

"I can walk away at any time" Hanna said dodging his embrace of her before she began to walk off. Turning back to look at him "Is that what you meant with hot and heavy?" she asked with a devilish smile

"You're a tease" Noel smiled knowing exactly what game she was playing

"Yeah, I'm something like that" Hanna smiled before she went off to join her friends. She knew with every step that she took that his attention was solely on her, and she'd be lying if she said that she didn't enjoy because she knew if she had Noel Kahns attention then she had everyone's. She still had it, she was still the queen bee, the only question was, did she still want the title and all it possessed. Feeling a vibration from her cell phone, she quickly pulled out her cell phone to see that it was a text from A "Nice to see you haven't gone soft on me. Every Queen needs to step over a few peasants to get to the thrown" she read not really interested in decoding her message, all Hanna was interested in was enjoying her victory over Mona.

* * *

Lucas found himself enjoying himself fully as it was clear that the Smith family was far different than any family he had ever seen. Meeting all of Mr. Smith's family members, Lucas truly felt like he was connected even more so to Winthrop than he could have imagined just by the overwhelming kindness he had received since being in Winthrop, but he knew that it was time for him to go home, before he found himself in a debate in his mind of if he was making the right decision. Having his stuff sent down, Lucas made his way downstairs to see Mr. Smith waiting for him in the foyer of the oversized house while the rest of the Smith's were outside still laughing and enjoying their time. He still found himself in shock by the double life that his mentor lead, but he was happy that this was something that only Alton and him knew about, like it was their getaway from Rosewood if need be. If Mr. Smith kept this a secret, he knew that it was for good reason and the time Lucas spent here, it was apparent as to why.

"Are you all ready?" Mr. Smith asked

"More than ready" Lucas replied "Thank you for everything, I had a really great time" he said

"Enough to reconsider?" Mr. Smith asked

"Reconsider? I missed my deadline, the only hope I have is to transfer in from Jamestown" Lucas said "And might I add, Jamestown is still on the table" he said

"Aw, now your just throwing curse words at me" Mr. Smith laughed "Most of the board members were at the benefit the other night, and you talked to quite a few to leave a lasting impression. There is a second session that is coming up in the beginning of August, but it would be only as camp sort of deal to give you the feel of what Winthrop is, but you could still get credit if you choose to go here" he said

"Somehow I knew this weekend would translate into more with you" Lucas laughed

"This is an opportunity for you Lucas, I want you to have a shot at this" Mr. Smith said

"I know you do, which is why it pains me to admit that I could really see myself here" Lucas admitted "I love it here, and I love my somewhat celebrity status here" he laughed

"So now who's leading a double life" Mr. Smith joked

"But I still want to be that kid, I'm not sure speeding up the growth process is a smart idea" Lucas said

"Its only up until school starts, if you decide to stay then that's completely your choice" Mr. Smith said

"But the option to transfer, is that still an option I can use?" Lucas asked

"Its still an option" Mr. Smith sighed

"Then I think I would lean heavily towards that. Winthrop isn't out of the question, it'll just be awhile" Lucas said

"I tried, but I will be ecstatic the day you finally become a student here" Mr. Smith smiled "I'll go see if the driver is ready" he said as he went outside the house

"I guess this is goodbye" Beth said as she made her way inside the house from the back yard

"Yeah, I guess this is" Lucas smiled

"It was nice to meet you Lucas, I think my family is completely in love with you now" Beth smiled

"I like that. You know having all the Smith's in my pocket" Lucas laughed "So how are you? With the whole post break up?" he asked

"I'm doing better" Beth smiled

"That's great" Lucas said

"So are you planning to return or is this the final goodbye?" Beth asked

"I'm not sure, but I do plan to return. Where does that register?" Lucas asked

"It ranks high" Beth smiled

"Well I'll take it" Lucas said

"Well then I'll look forward to your return" Beth said before she leaned in to kiss him on the cheek "Until then, Lucas" she smiled at him causing a wave of shock to come to Lucas and instant image of Hanna looking on with disapproving eyes before he was quickly brought back to reality by the door opening

"Change of plans Luke" Mr. Smith said as he came back inside "Hey Beth" he said to his neice

"Hey Uncle Gavin. I was just saying goodbye to your young protégé" Beth teased her uncle

"What's the change?" Lucas asked still reeling from the shock that Beth had kissed him

"The driver is at the train station because he thought he was picking you up, so I thought you might enjoy driving this bad boy" Mr. Smith said before he revealed the very convertible Lucas was gawking over

"Oh, I'm so going to miss Winthrop" Lucas smiled before he quickly grabbed the keys and ran out to the car with Mr. Smith close behind him

"Hey, there are rules you have to abide by" Mr. Smith told him as Beth laughed hearing her Uncle nearly have a heart attack at the though of someone having bad intentions with his convertible

* * *

Stepping off the train, Lucas took in a deep breath before he once again began to drag his suitcase along the pavement. Looking around the familiar settings of Rosewood, a piece of him felt like nothing screamed intrigue like it did in Winthrop. A part of him hated that he went out to Winthrop and enjoyed himself so much because he just felt like he was comparing at this point. Coming upon a crowd of people looking on at the schedule board to see when certain trains were coming in, Lucas made his way through the crowd to find the sole reason of what Rosewood so special to him for what felt like all of his teenage years and maybe even beyond that. It was like Christmas morning when he laid eyes on her, so much so that he couldn't wait to hold her and smell the scent of her, and standing beside her was his best friend, his best friend in the whole world, the friend that without a doubt knew him best. Walking up towards them, Hanna rested against his car as she looked on at Alton.

"Something looks different about him" Hanna said playfully to Alton who observed his friend

"Is he taller or shorter?" Alton asked "He looks a tad bit taller" he observed as he walked all around him

"Maybe, he looks cuter but then again he was always cute" Hanna commented on his looks

"Thank you" Lucas smiled at her

"Speak for yourself, I for one think he's a little rough to look at" Alton replied

"I think I will, speak for myself. He looks good enough…"Hanna said as Alton quickly cut her off

"Control your feminine urges for the bedroom, we're in public here" Alton replied instantly

"I plan to" Hanna said as Lucas became flattered by every moment that passed as they both just stared at each other with only one thing on their mind and miles in between that stopped them from ripping each other's clothes off

"Maybe he has a bit more facial hair" Alton suggested

"Could be, you know maybe the Brad Pitt look is coming in" Hanna laughed

"That would balance out those unbalanced ears" Alton joked

"Okay, are we done here, I would really love to get home" Lucas laughed

"I think just about" Alton said "Good to have you back Luke, good to have you back" he said

"So what damage did you two do while I was away?" Lucas asked

"Oh, we just through a small little party" Alton replied

"You throw parties now Al?" Lucas asked surprised to hear the word we in Alton's sentence

"Yes, Alton is actually pretty good at event planning, so much so that its scary" Hanna said

"Was it fun?" Lucas asked

"It had its moments" Hanna smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck to give him a quick kiss

"Did you have fun?" Lucas asked

"Without you, never" Hanna laughed

"That's nice to hear" Lucas laughed as they all got into Lucas's car with Hanna at the drivers seat "I got some video you sent Al, I haven't watched it yet, but since when do you do videos?" he asked as he pulled his cell phone out

"Alton, really? You sent it to Lucas?" Hanna asked him in disbelief as she pulled out of the parking lot just before Lucas opened the video to hear the constant moaning sounds from the video of the people having sex

"Dude, seriously?" Lucas asked in disbelief by the video as they got onto the open roads as Alton did his best to explain the reasoning behind it to Lucas


	22. I Choose You

**Chapter Twenty One- I Choose You**

His hands roamed all over her body as they found themselves more than ready to take things a step further. Relieving himself of his shirt as he sat back on his knees, Hanna ran her fingers through her hair as smiled up at the boy she had seemed to be nuts over, capturing her lips into an intoxicating kiss, Lucas took full advantage of his time with her as their time together was becoming pretty scarce with him working on his software and her doing the party circuits. He hadn't been that big of fan hanging out with same people, who made it a habit to make his life a living hell at school, so he occasionally went with her to the summer parties, he trusted her, so there was no need for him to monitor her on something she liked to do. When they were together, it was like two tidal waves crashing and a volcanoe erupting, all they wanted was each other and there was no denying that fact from each other. On occasions he would cut his work short on account of trying to get to Hanna as fast as she could, with her mom not ever really being at home due to her crazy work schedule, a lot of the times they would have their sexual escapades over at her house in fear of either Alton walking in or Lucas's parents coming home early to where they had to scurry around for their clothes in hopes that his parents wouldn't walk in on them. After what felt like hours worth of sex, the two fell on their backs gasping for air as the sweat trickled down their bodies.

"I think that's a record for us?" Lucas gasped

"Yeah" Hanna replied breathlessly "You did something new" she added when she found enough air to complete her sentence

"That porn advertisement came in use" Lucas laughed before Hanna playfully hit him on the arm

"I guess I'll have to thank Alton then" Hanna laughed as she leaned over to look at the clock "I hate to cut this short but I have to get ready to meet up with Maya" she said as she sat up in the bed

"What is it tonight?" Lucas asked as he looked underneath the covers to find his boxers

"Katie Halloway is throwing a party, she got this local band to perform and they sound pretty good" Hanna told him

"Katie Halloway, the cheerleader?" Lucas asked as he pulled up his boxers

"That'd be her. You should come tonight, it'd be fun" Hanna suggested "Alton's going" she told him

"Alton will go to all things party, that's no excuse to just go" Lucas laughed

"Maybe because you want to spend some time with your girlfriend, whom is seeing less and less of you in these summer months where we're suppose to see each other. I appreciate the sex, but I want more of you" Hanna smiled

"I know, which is why I'm trying to rush through getting this software done, so I can spend time with you" Lucas said "I don't know if I want to be at a party to spend time with you though" he said

"Okay, well it doesn't have to be a party, but something more than just us sleeping together and us actually sleeping together" Hanna said

"Am I hearing a date proposal, like our first re-do date" Lucas laughed

"Yeah, I think I am. Who knows, you might even get lucky" Hanna laughed

"I've always been lucky, when it comes to you" Lucas smiled just as Hanna's cell phone began to vibrate "I think that's you" he told her just before she leaned over to grab her phone

"Hello" Hanna answered her phone

"Hey, is this a bad time?" Noel asked her as soon as she answered

"Uh, no. What's up?" Hanna asked as she put her shirt back on while Lucas zipped up his pants in the backround

"Well you know that Katie is having that local band coming to her band, the Spinsters or something like that, and I'm suppose to pick them up along with her, but she flaked on me. She told me to call you because you know your way around the airport, so this is me asking" Noel laughed

"Uh, when are you leaving?" Hanna asked looking over at Lucas continuing to get dressed

"In about an hour. We can meet up over by bookstore" Noel suggested

"Okay, that's fine" Hanna sighed

"I'll see you later then" Noel laughed before he hung the phone

"Who was that?" Lucas asked as he tightened his belt

"It was Noel" Hanna replied without even realizing

"What's Noel Kahn calling you about?" Lucas asked

"He wanted to know if I could help him with a problem" Hanna said

"What type of problem? School wise?" Lucas asked quizzically finding that hard to believe that Noel would be doing anything school wise during the summer

"No, its something with the band. He wanted me to go with him to go pick up the band because he doesn't really know the way over there, Katie gave him my number" Hanna shrugged

"Oh" Lucas replied

"Oh? Are you okay with that because I can call him back and just have someone else go with him?" Hanna asked

"No, its cool. I mean I trust you and I know you two are friends" Lucas replied thinking back to that kiss that Beth gave him on the cheek. It wasn't so much the fact that she kissed his cheek, but the fact that she seemed as if she meant for it to mean more than just a goodbye kiss on the cheek in his mind. All he could think of was how he should relayed the fact that he had a girlfriend "Yeah, its more than okay" he said

"Your really okay with this? Wow, your not like a typical boyfriend" Hanna smiled as she leaned up to kiss him

"And what type of boyfriend am I?" Lucas laughed as he wrapped his hands around her waste

"Your amazing" Hanna replied "Simply amazing" she smiled before she kissed his neck before he slowly backed her over to the bed

"What time does your mom come home in the afternoon?" Lucas asked as he ran his fingers through her hair

"Around noon. Why?" Hanna asked in between the kisses she placed on his neck

"Because I think I forgot to show you what else I learned from the porn advertising" Lucas laughed as he pulled his shirt over his head before they both fell on to the bed

* * *

Having a summer job was never an issue for Lucas or Alton because they always managed to get odd jobs around the town for things that required a lot of brain power, usually in the summer they would call it their season hustle because they would do the taxes for numerous members at the country club. So many members were having their taxes done by the two boys that the manager gave them office space for an allotted time every Friday of the week, and they would on average make a thousand dollars in a month for their work. Unable to get a hold of Lucas this afternoon, Alton was forced but willingly took Lucas's share of the cut from all the customers they had received that afternoon. Cleaning up the office as he prepared to leave for the day, Alton turned out the lights and made his way out of the office, making sure to lock the door behind him. Turning to find Spencer coming his way, dressed in her tennis outfit, he quickly perked up, eager to put a damper on her day by any means possible.

"What are you doing here?" Spencer asked

"Do I have like a sign on me that prohibits you to ask any kind of question? I mean why I'm here is up to me and only me" Alton smirked

"Fine, have it your way" Spencer said as she motioned to leave before he grabbed onto her arm to prevent her from leaving

"Wait. I was being a jerk" Alton replied quickly

"That's nothing new" Spencer replied

"And you make it hard for me to be nice" Alton laughed to himself "I'm here because I do the taxes for a few of the members here at the club" he told her

"You do taxes? Really?" Spencer asked

"Yes, I do. If you haven't all ready heard this, but I'm something like a big deal when it comes to taxes" Alton told her

"Your something all right" Spencer laughed "Your just full of surprises. Here I thought you were Lucas's lonely best friend, but your actually a brainy guy, who doesn't give a crap about the future. Then I thought you were shy and to yourself, but your actually porn obsessed and can't get enough of yourself, literally" she said

"And here I thought you were some stuck up princess, who obsesses over the future and happens to be a kill joy" Alton replied

"But…" Spencer asked hoping that there would be something else he'd like to add as to what he knew of her now

"Oh, my opinion hasn't changed, your still the same" Alton said

"You really think that, don't you?" Spencer asked

"You haven't shown me otherwise, I mean thank God you have friends who balance you, but behind the books and the obsession over the future, I have no clue of who you really are. I may obsess over porn, but what boy my age doesn't. I may not quote on quote don't give a crap about the future, but then again that's my choice because the future's coming whether I prepare for it or not. So why waste precious time" Alton told her

"If you wanted to know the real me then all you have to do ask" Spencer said

"Hmmm, maybe I'll ask one day" Alton smirked before he walked away leaving Spencer behind to ponder just what exactly his deal was

* * *

Not much had gone into picking up the band, though they had gotten lost for a few minutes or so but nothing big that she couldn't handle. The Spinsters, the local band that was slated to play at the party, for the most had their diva moments in check and even came across as down to earth as they drove back to Rosewood, which made Hanna like them even more because there was nothing worse to like someone then find out they were nothing like you thought they would be. Checking her phone consistently thinking that Lucas might have regretted her going with Noel after all, but each time she checked she had the same conclusion, he trusted her and it was plain and simple. Stopping off at the diner for some food before heading over to Katie's, the band wasted no time rushing inside to order anything and everything they could think of while Noel came back outside carrying cold sodas for Hanna and him.

"Are you sure you didn't want anything else?" Noel asked her as he handed her the soda

"No, I'm good. Its just hot and this will be a lifesaver for me" Hanna smiled

"The guys are pretty cool, not what I thought they would be" Noel said

"What did you think they would be like?" Hanna asked

"I thought they would be drunk and destructive, but my car is in one piece" Noel laughed

"Yeah, well there are bands like that, but I guess the new generation is different" Hanna laughed

"What bands are you into?" Noel asked

"I like Blink 182, Linkin Park, Paramore, Pretty Reckless, and Weezer" Hanna smiled

"Weezer? What song?" Noel asked

"Island in the sun, it has sentimental value to me" Hanna smiled "You? What's your faves?" she asked

"I'm more underground than anything" Noel said "But I like all kinds of music" he said

"Same. Music is music in my eyes" Hanna replied

"So, I gotta ask, what made you go to Toby's funeral?" Noel asked "Not that I'm against it or anything" he said

"Then why ask?" Hanna quickly asked him "You must've formed an opinion all ready" she stated

"No, I just…I'm sorry if I overstepped. You don't have to explain anything to me or anyone else" Noel apologized making Hanna feel guilty for nearly jumping down his throat

"He deserved to have his peace, no one deserves to be slandered in the way he was" Hanna said

"Even after what he did to Alison?" Noel asked

"We don't know for sure if he did kill Ali" Hanna replied "Its all speculation at this point, but we just like to have someone to blame, that's the American way" she said

"That's pretty big of you, I mean I know what Alison meant to you" Noel said

"Well it's the process of moving on" Hanna replied

"I remember you use to be Alison's flunky, I always use to think you'd do anything Alison would tell you to do in a heartbeat, I know Mona would have if it was her" Noel laughed "But you were different, you envied her but not to the point where you lost yourself" he said

"And where did you conclude this from?" Hanna asked

"I did notice you Hanna" Noel said

"When I was Hefty Hanna or when I was Hanna?" Hanna asked

"I thought Hefty Hanna was cool. I thought Hanna was hot" Noel replied as Hanna looked at him quizzically trying to see if he was just trying to make her blush but she was quickly torn from her observation of him by the sudden appearance of the band as they loaded back into Noel's car

"Katie's house we shall go" Noel smiled at her as he pulled his car keys out and head back over to the drivers side

* * *

Finishing up his text to Alton, apologizing profusely to him for bailing on him as he made his way into his room. Grabbing a seat at his desk, Lucas sent the text in hopes that Alton would be all forgiving, which he usually would, but he had hoped that his payback would be somewhat manageable and not too crazy. Before sitting his phone down, he thought to send Hanna a text to see where she was but he stopped himself from being the insecure and jealous boyfriend that he was afraid he'd portray if he sent a text even remotely questioning her whereabouts. Sitting the phone down next to his laptop, he quickly received an IM message from Alton calling him the usual derogatory names he had gotten use to with him, before he could even reply to Alton's message another message popped up on his screen. Unsure as to who this was, Lucas thought to click out of the screen but the intrigue had gotten to him to see what the message said. Looking at the message he noticed that it was Beth, who had sent it. His mind went into overload wondering how she was able to get a hold of him but then he remembered that he had given it to her at the breakfast over at Mr. Smith's house.

Beth: Can I bend your ear on something?

Maybe she wanted to talk about her boyfriend, as in they got back together and she is no longer interested in me anymore was all Lucas thought. Quickly dispelling that thought due to the fact that he wasn't a known babe magnet, he chalked this message up to maybe her wanting to talk, but he thought it'd be a good idea to mention the fact that he was in a serious relationship.

Lucas: Yeah, sure

Beth: I'm trying to create a mock data for a project that I'm working on, what should my spreadsheet look like so it doesn't just come across as boring and repetitive when it comes to the numbers

Lucas: A data question J just do a table chart, its simple and people are familiar with it. Nothing special required

Beth: I was hoping to use some of your fancy software your working on

Lucas: That won't be happening anytime soon. Top secret and it'll remain that way

Beth: It was worth a shot. How is life outside of Winthrop?

Lucas: Good. Just enjoying summer

Beth: That's good

Lucas: My girlfriend was to have me back

Beth: I bet. My uncle is going out to Rosewood soon, maybe I'll see you

Lucas: Maybe

"I think she took that pretty well" Lucas said to himself as he began to play with his hair

* * *

The music blared throughout the whole house as The Spinsters took the stage, they were an immediate hit with their first song that they played, and from then on they had become a crowd favorite. Off on the balcony of the house, Hanna and her friends laughed and talked as they looked on at everyone else having a good time. Mona had made it a point to be noticed at the party, so on occasion she would do her best to make a scene so that all signs were on her, but no one had paid her much attention than she did herself. The party was fun, but a part of Hanna wished that Lucas would have come walking through the door, but the more time went by, the more she realized that he wasn't going to come at all, which was fine, it didn't make her love him any less, but with Noel's constant looks over in her direction, she feared what was running through his mind because it was clear that he wanted something to happen between the two of them.

"Having a good time?" Noel asked her as he made his way over towards her

"Yeah, its pretty cool" Hanna shrugged trying not to seem too interested in what he was saying

"You okay?" Noel asked noticing her lack of interest

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just have a migraine" Hanna replied

"A migraine?" Noel questioned as Alton walked up to her

"Have you seen Spencer?" Alton asked her

"I thought she was with you" Hanna replied

"Yeah, I thought so as well but I turned back and she wasn't there" Alton said

"I think I've found her" Noel laughed as he pointed Spencer out in the crowd of people upside down chugging on a beer keg

"Oh, this is not good" Alton replied nervously

"What is she doing?" Hanna laughed

"Not being a stuck up princess. I think I will go handle this before this gets even worse" Alton said before he rushed over to grab Spencer

"Are those two dating?" Noel asked

"No, they just banter. We all know what that leads to" Hanna laughed

"Did Lucas and you banter?" Noel asked

"No, we were friends" Hanna said

"Like us?" Noel asked with the biggest of smiles on his face

"Not like us. What are you doing?" Hanna asked him

"I'm talking to you" Noel replied "I thought that was pretty obvious" he said

"Yeah, but it seems like your giving me your best game here" Hanna said

"Maybe I am" Noel replied before he leaned in to kiss her cheek, just as he began to pull away, Hanna could see and hear a camera flash over in their direction, immediately pulling away she soon realized that the people next to them were taking pictures of themselves

"You shouldn't do that. I have a boyfriend Noel" Hanna said

"Its funny because I know that but its getting hard to believe that when you show up to these parties alone" Noel replied

"I'm here with friends. Just because I don't have my boyfriend draped all over my arm doesn't mean it's a legit relationship, and since when do I have to prove my relationship to the public, what matters is what goes on between Lucas and I" Hanna told him

"All right, your right. It's a shame though, because we fit so good together" Noel said before he turned to walk away eventually catching up with some friends of his that he showed up with

* * *

Looking over her menu for what seemed like the millionth time, Hanna kept looking up nervously at Lucas, who seemed to be really into what he was going to choose for his breakfast meal. All she kept thinking about were the accusations that Noel had made at the party last night, and how wrong he was. She felt the need to tell Lucas, but then she didn't want to break the trust he had in her so it just felt like an internal war within herself trying to come up with the best solution of what to do. Taking his baseball cap off his head to rustle with his hair, Lucas looked on at his girlfriend glad to know that he had done right by her and had let it be known to Beth that he indeed had a significant other in his life that he was totally and one hundred percent committed to without a doubt. Putting her hand on the table, he wasted no time covering hers with his as the two just sat there looking on at their menu's, a slight smile came to her face at how natural it was for him to be with her, like she was his favorite thing amongst everything else in this technologically advanced world.

"I'm glad we're spending the day together. I've missed hanging out all day like we use to" Lucas told her as he put his menu down to talk face to face with her

"See, that's all we need, we need a little TLC to spice up the relationship" Hanna laughed

"Do we need to spice up our relationship?" Lucas asked

"No, not that I know of, do you think we do?" Hanna asked "I mean that would be okay if you did think that because you know we've been together for nearly five months now" she said

"Is that a long time in couple standards?" Lucas asked

"Its substantial" Hanna smiled

"Maybe we should spice our relationship up then, you know add the adventure to it" Lucas replied

"And how exactly are we going to add heat to our relationship?" Hanna asked

"I really don't know, I'm coming up with this on the fly" Lucas laughed "Maybe get out of our comfort zone a little bit" he suggested

"That's interesting. I'll tell you what, let me take the lead on this one" Hanna smiled at him as she looked around the barely filled diner before she quickly grabbed his hand and got up from the booth that they were sitting in

"What are we doing? We haven't ordered yet" Lucas replied as they walked over to the restrooms before she quickly checked inside the women's restroom before they quickly snuck into one of the stalls

"Luke, you've seen enough teen movies or just movies in general to know that what we're about to do has nothing to do with bowel movements or releasing of urine" Hanna told him "So in the words of Izzie Stevens, drop your pants now!" she demanded her boyfriend as all he could do was oblige her wishes before the biggest of smiles came to her face

* * *

After their rendezvous in the diner bathroom, Hanna and Lucas were more than ready to keep spicing up their relationship in any form possible if need be to them. They were in the purest of bliss after, but were quickly torn out of the happiness by an immediate text from Spencer, surprised to even see that she was texting after the amount of alcohol she drank the other night, Hanna knew that if Spencer was able to function at this point in the day then something had to be up. Promising to meet up with Lucas back at his place, Lucas agreed to drop her off over at Spencer's place, but she knew that he was partially happy because then he could finish up some work on his proposal, he was beyond transparent to her. Giving Lucas a couple of quick kisses, realizing more and more that this meeting needed to be a quick one because she really wanted to spend the day with her boyfriend, Hanna knew that the quicker she made her way inside and dealt with the current issue then the quicker she would return to Lucas. Making her way inside, Hanna spotted Spencer's mother in the kitchen office on the phone yelling at someone, which in her case was completely normal. Once she finally made it to Spencer room there was a certain aura that lead her know that something was really up.

"Someone looks a little disheveled?" Emily noticed of Hanna's appearance

"Shut up" Hanna replied quickly

"Are you two having sex?" Aria asked catching onto what Emily had said

"That's my business, and it will remain mine" Hanna said

"Yes, they are" Emily answered Aria

"Em? What the hell" Hanna replied slightly embarrassed

"We have other things to worry about Hanna" Spencer said

"Okay, what's wrong?" Hanna asked as she hesitantly grabbed a seat on Spencer's bed next to Emily

"Looks like A is back" Aria said breaking the silence "Emily and I both got texts from A" she mentioned

"Spence, what about you?" Hanna turned to ask

"It gets better" Spencer replied giving Aria the nod to finish up what she was saying previously

"It was about the two of you. A is going after either you or Spencer next" Aria said

"About what?" Hanna asked "I mean why are we the singled out targets for the next attack?" she asked Aria

"I don't know. Is there anything that you've done?" Emily asked

"That I've done. Way to make me feel not of the guilty party" Hanna replied

"I'm in the same boat with your Hanna" Spencer replied

"There's nothing that comes to mind that would make A so pissed at me" Hanna said

"Nothing?" Aria asked

"Again, what's with the questioning of me?" Hanna asked

"There's a reason why A is targeting us Hanna, and I think it might be because of Lucas" Spencer said

"Whoa! What does Lucas have to do with any of this?" Hanna asked

"Because of what Toby told him, what if he knows something he shouldn't and A wants to hurt him" Emily said

"Lucas can't even remember what Toby told him, we haven't even discussed that since the funeral" Hanna said

"Well maybe you should revisit the topic?" Aria said

"Maybe, look, I would love to sit here and create more conspiracy theories but I really want to spend time with my boyfriend, you know the guy that seems to be a workaholic now" Hanna told her friends

"Ask him, Han" Spencer emphasized to her friend

"Lay off Spence" Hanna said on her way out of her room

* * *

For what felt like an eternity, Alton stood in the same spot, staring down at the single marker that marked his piece of earth that proved he was alive. In his mind he replayed over and over again his moments on this earth, and when it finally set in for him that here lay a person that he had killed, it only made things harder. So much of him wanted to cry and feel something that showed remorse but he just couldn't stop the image of he himself buried beneath the earth for it to finally set in with him. Coming up from behind him, Jenna couldn't help but feel a bit at peace to know that her brother was missed by not only her family but by others as well. Turning to look at Jenna, Alton didn't know whether to leave or to stay but found her calmness as a welcoming sign to stay a bit longer.

"I'm surprised the grave is still in one piece" Alton sighed

"The city has placed it under protection, he should have had protection when he was alive" Jenna laughed

"Maybe so. What happened to him?" Alton asked her "What made him snap like that?" he went on to ask her

"Rosewood happened to him. You know how it is, if your not genetically beautiful then you're the butt of a joke" Jenna sighed

"And that's all it was, just him dealing with the pressures of Rosewood?" Alton asked

"That's all its ever been" Jenna said

"Jen, do you know what happened out on that boat that day?" Alton asked

"I've come up with a few conclusions, but I don't think I'll ever get the answer to that question, and I think I'm fine with that" Jenna said

"What if I could give you that answer? seeing as I was there and all" Alton asked her

"Do you really want to go down memory lane, I mean I know how tough it was for Lucas and you" Jenna said

"I think you deserve to know what happened" Alton said before he took a deep breath and turned to look at her "On the boat, that day when…..when he had us at gun point. I had a pathetic life, I mean the best thing and the most important thing in my life is probably my comic book collection, and when the water kept rising and he just….the only thing I could think of was I want to live and he was standing in the way of that. Jenna, I shot Toby. I killed him to save myself" he told her

"You killed him?" Jenna asked nearly forcing herself to say the words

"Yeah, I killed my best friend. I wish I could take it all back, I wish that I could've been there for him when he needed us but in that moment there was no other choice" Alton cried

"I believe you, and I believe you didn't do it out of hate" Jenna said after a moment of silence came between them

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry" Alton sobbed uncontrollably as Jenna used his shoulder as a guide towards hugging him

"Its fine. Everything is going to be fine" Jenna told him before Alton quickly broke from her embrace

"I killed him. I put him here, and everything is going to be fine….what's wrong with that logic?" Alton cried

"Alton" Jenna said trying to follow his voice

"It didn't have to end like this. He didn't have to die like this" Alton cried as he slowly calmed himself down "He kept, he kept talking about his side, like he was desperate to tell us something. Like he wanted us to know for some reason, and I think it was about that summer Jen" he said

"No, he wouldn't bring that up" Jenna quickly denied "That summer was hell, for the both of us" she said

"That summer may have been the reason why we were stranded out at sea, that summer may be the last shred of clearing his name" Alton said frantically "That summer is connected to something" he reasoned

* * *

Coming through his window, Hanna was relieved to see Lucas there in his room so that they could at least salvage what was left of their day of romance together. The whole way over to his house all she could keep hearing was Spencer in her head or Emily, telling her that she needed to find out what Lucas knew, she needed to find out for her own sake, but if only things were that simple. Lucas was still reeling from Toby's death, and she didn't want to put him through the memories of having to remember the last days of his friends death as days that could ultimately add to the game A had the girls playing unwillingly, but then she just felt like it was all some big ticking bomb that only had a set amount of time for everything to just blow up in her face. A was after Spencer and Hanna, and the more she thought about it the more she began to fear what A had up her sleave, what was A so desperate to destroy, thinking back on the text Hanna had received the other night at the party, it just now began to register to her. Sitting beside Lucas on the bed, the two sat in silence before he just turned to look at her like all the color in his face had faded away before he got up from his seat and walked over to his laptop.

"What is this?" Lucas asked turning his laptop to show her the blown up picture of Noel and her in a comprising position. At that moment it became crystal clear who A was gunning for now, and there was no telling what she was after


	23. That Song By The Fray

**Chapter Twenty Two- That Song By The Fray**

Sitting nervously on the edge of her bed, Hanna waited nervously as even her legs began to fidget uncontrollably as the wait became increasingly painful. Coming into her room, Emily was nervous to see her friend look as pale as a ghost as she could clearly see that her world was overcome with fear at this point in time. Making sure to lock the door behind her, Emily quickly made her way over to Hanna was and pulled her into a quick hug, hoping that she would find some comfort within her embrace. Holding on to her friend, Hanna could only pray that she would find the answers soon enough, but would hope the answer would be in her favor. Looking across the way over at Lucas's house, she knew that she couldn't exactly rush over to talk to him especially after their last conversation, and at this point she knew that she needed him but it would have been selfish for her to take advantage him.

"Have you checked?" Emily asked her breaking the silence between the two of them

"I've been kind of hoping that it would all just go away" Hanna laughed nervously

"It doesn't work like that Hanna" Emily sighed

"I know Em. I know" Hanna replied as tears streamed down her face

"Have you told Lucas?" Emily asked

"No. I can't right now, not until I know" Hanna said as she got up from where she sat to pace the floor

"So what are you waiting for? I mean I think he would want to know if his girlfriend might be pregnant or not" Emily said as it became more of a realization for Hanna what she was facing at the moment

"Yeah" Hanna replied not completely sold on the option of telling him but all she could do was think back to her last conversation with Lucas

**[3 Days Ago]**

_**The whole way over to his house all she could keep hearing was Spencer in her head or Emily, telling her that she needed to find out what Lucas knew, she needed to find out for her own sake, but if only things were that simple. Lucas was still reeling from Toby's death, and she didn't want to put him through the memories of having to remember the last days of his friends death as days that could ultimately add to the game A had the girls playing unwillingly, but then she just felt like it was all some big ticking bomb that only had a set amount of time for everything to just blow up in her face. A was after Spencer and Hanna, and the more she thought about it the more she began to fear what A had up her sleave, what was A so desperate to destroy, thinking back on the text Hanna had received the other night at the party, it just now began to register to her. Sitting beside Lucas on the bed, the two sat in silence before he just turned to look at her like all the color in his face had faded away before he got up from his seat and walked over to his laptop.**_

_**"What is this?" Lucas asked turning his laptop to show her the blown up picture of Noel and her in a comprising position. At that moment it became crystal clear who A was gunning for now, and there was no telling what she was after**_

_**"Where'd you get that?" Hanna asked **_

_**"Does it really matter where I got it? What is this is my biggest concern at the moment" Lucas asked her**_

_**"It's nothing. It was a picture that makes things look worse than what they really were" Hanna said**_

_**"Okay, then what was really going on in this moment because what I'm seeing is adding up to what is trying to be conveyed" Lucas said**_

_**"Who sent this to you Luke?" Hanna asked as she got up to walk over to his computer but he closed the lid so that her attention would be solely on him**_

_**"No, we're not talking about how I got it, I want to know what is going on in the picture" Lucas demanded as he hid the lap top behind his back**_

_**"Nothing was going on in the picture Luke!" Hanna replied angrily**_

_**"Then what? Was he reaching for a potato chip and accidentally grazed your cheek with his lips or did his lips turn into a suction cup and just gravitated to your cheek" Lucas said sarcastically "Explain it to me because I'm not understanding at the moment" he said**_

_**"Now your just being dramatic" Hanna replied**_

_**"I'm being dramatic because my girlfriend won't answer a simple question that I'm asking. What is this? Just tell me what occurred in this moment whether it was just you bumping into his lips or if it was…" Lucas said before Hanna cut him off**_

_**"Or it was me just hooking up with Noel Kahn at a party. Was that what you were going to say?" Hanna asked him "Some trust you have in me" she said**_

_**"You not answering the question is what's making this worse, it could really be simple if you just tell me" Lucas said**_

_**"Noel kissed me. Noel kissed me on the cheek, it came out of nowhere and he just kissed my cheek" Hanna said as Lucas looked at her confused**_

_**"He kissed you. So what? Does he like you now?" Lucas asked**_

_**"I don't know, maybe" Hanna said**_

_**"Maybe? For how long?" Lucas asked**_

_**"What does it matter? Its not like I'm reciprocating the feelings towards him" Hanna said**_

_**"But he's clearly acting like you don't have a boyfriend, if he's just so boldly kissing you on the cheek and clearly all on you" Lucas said becoming angrier by the minute**_

_**"Okay, Luke, it takes two to play that game, and it makes it harder when only one person is playing" Hanna said**_

_**"Don't do that! Don't make it seem like I'm drumming this up" Lucas replied annoyed with her reaction of it all**_

_**"Well maybe because you are. You want to see something in this picture that isn't there, for what I don't know, but nothing on my part deserves this interrogation right now" Hanna said**_

_**"That's not the point. My point right now is that this supposed friend of yours is trying his damnedest in this picture to inspire something out of you, you may not be responding to it, but he sure wants you to" Lucas said**_

_**"Okay, yes, Noel is putting on the full court press, but I'm not doing anything to encourage it. What do you want me to do that I haven't all ready done?" Hanna asked**_

_**"Stay away from him" Lucas quickly replied as Hanna looked at him crazed with his suggestion**_

_**"Stay away from him? I see him at parties, and around town, I can't just turn the other direction whenever he comes" Hanna replied**_

_**"Do you love me?" Lucas asked**_

_**"Don't do that" Hanna replied**_

_**"Do what? I asked do you love me, that's a fairly simple question that I'm dying to know the answer to at this moment" Lucas replied**_

_**"Yes, I love you, but this current presentation of you, not so much" Hanna said**_

_**"If you love me, then you'll stay away from him. I don't care if you have to put a whole block in between you guys" Lucas said**_

_**"Your crazy and so is that idea of yours. Luke, if I love you then I wouldn't cheat on you or jeopardize the best thing that's ever happened to me, that's what I would do if I loved you" Hanna said**_

_**"So then tell me what happened three years ago, tell me the significance of this picture then, so all my crazy thoughts can be put to rest" Lucas said as he pulled as he pulled out a picture of Noel and Hanna making out with a caption of three years ago at the bottom of the picture. Hanna's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets to see the picture. It wasn't so much of the picture that shocked her, but it was the mere fact that she had remembered that moment, she remembered it had been he debut party of the new and improved Hanna, who happened to be boyfriendless in the physical sense that night, no, what made it shocking was the fact that there was only one person who took the picture and that was Alison. "I guess the saying is right, a picture is worth a thousand words because your face is looking pretty priceless right now" he replied sadly**_

_**"I need to see who sent this to you?" Hanna asked him**_

_**"That's what you want?" Lucas asked sadly "Fine, that's what you get" he said handing over the envelope that it was sent in **_

_**"A" Hanna said to herself**_

_**"I guess you've made an enemy by starting things up with Noel again" Lucas laughed sadly "Who is A?" he asked**_

_**"No one" Hanna replied "Just someone trying to cause trouble" she said**_

_**"Okay, well if you can personify them, then you clearly know of this A. Is it a girl or guy?" Lucas asked**_

_**"I don't know who this A is" Hanna replied**_

_**"Then why is A sending me pictures of my girlfriend. They clearly know you" Lucas said**_

_**"Are you trying to be a jerk or is this coming natural right now?" Hanna asked**_

_**"Why are you lying to me? I mean just tell me the truth, all I want is the truth" Lucas said**_

_**"Oh, so now I'm a liar to you now? That's nice to know. I haven't lied to you" Hanna said**_

_**"You lied about Noel liking you, and now your lying about this A" Lucas told her "If I look on your phone will I not see any thing from A on there?" he asked her**_

_**"Your not looking through my phone, you haven't earned that right, nor will you ever. I'm not some child" Hanna replied**_

_**"Well, that's what people say when they have something to hide. Are you like starting something up with Noel again? Just let me know, so I can at least have some dignity in knowing your screwing someone else because clearly you didn't feel the need to tell Sean" Lucas said**_

_**"I'm not starting anything up with Noel. I love you" Hanna cried**_

_**"I believe that, but that picture has my mind running wild at this moment, and I can't narrow in on one fact that makes me keep the faith that Noel is going to realize that your not on the market" Lucas smiled weakly "With me as your boyfriend, I'm not sure he'll get that fact so easily" he said**_

_**"How about with me as your girlfriend? Don't I get some credit in this?" Hanna asked**_

_**"Its hard because my girlfriend should have told me about this and this" Lucas said referring to both of the pictures "I don't care if you hooked up with him three years ago because you don't owe me that, but I care that you didn't feel the need to tell me about this whether the moment or the simple fact of that Noel liked you as more than his friend because I was under the impression that's what was between you two" he said**_

**[Present Day]**

"I can't deal with. I have to go" Hanna said before she quickly grabbed her purse just as Emily ran over to the door to stop her

"Hanna, this isn't something you can just run from" Emily told her

"This is my life Em. I have more at stake here, so I'll meet my fate but not right now" Hanna said

"Your not running. I won't let you" Emily said staying stern with her

"I'm not a child" Hanna replied angrily

"Yeah, your right. You just might be having one is all" Emily replied quickly to her comment "I don't care if you don't choose to look at the test but we're not leaving this room until you do so" she told her friend

"I hate you" Hanna said giving up hope of getting past Emily

"And I love you" Emily replied as Hanna looked at her friend with tears streaming down her face

* * *

Sitting out, staring out at the glisten the lake had on its surface areas of water, Lucas picked up yet another pebble to skip across the top of the water. For a moment he felt like each pebble relieved him of the stress in his life, but just as easy as it went away, the stress still remained. Every spare moment he had to think all his mind could drift off to were the pictures of Hanna and Noel the before and after. He knew that she loved him but a part of him felt like he was living on borrowed time when it came to his relationship, that someday she was going to wake up and realize that she should be with someone who is of her stature and in her popularity bracket at school. Lucas was never one to believe in that like should be with like knowledge, but his own actions had caused him to think that way. The same thing that he was hurt about with Hanna, he did himself, it was never relayed to her about his own kiss from the opposite sex that wasn't her, but couldn't seem to train his mind to realize the stupidity in his anger but to focus more the risk of it all, the risks he's taken to be with Hanna. Tearing Lucas from his thoughts, Alton grabbed a seat next to Lucas knowing that if his friends only sense of enjoyment was to skip pebbles across a lake, then something was up and they needed to talk.

"I take it you and Hanna are upset with each other again. What's the issue?" Alton asked his friend

"What, do I have like some posted sign on my back that says, having girl problems" Lucas laughed

"No, you just have a girlfriend" Alton smiled "So what's up?" he asked

"I saw a picture of Hanna and Noel together. Three years ago and the other night, the one from the other night had Noel kissing her cheek but that pales in comparison of the one from three years ago" Lucas told his friend

"We always come back to those three words, three years ago" Alton laughed to himself "I'm not quite sure about the picture from the supposed three years ago, but I do know at the party that Noel was making it obvious to Hanna that he wanted something to happen between the two of them" he said

"Oh, wow. That's comforting to know" Lucas said shaking his head in discomfort from the subject of Noel all together

"But, I do know for a fact, Hanna wasn't giving him the time of day. They talked but whenever he got close she put distance between them" Alton told his friend

"I should be happy, huh?" Lucas asked his friend with a bit of a smile on his face

"Yeah, you really should. I mean you got the girl" Alton laughed "Don't know how you did it, but you got the girl" he said

"Funny thing is, I'm not even sure how I did it as well" Lucas replied

"Well I think you got her, but I keep her. I mean with my sparkling personality and all" Alton joked "Stop being a Debby Downer, and enjoy the summer, enjoy having sex with your girlfriend, who wants to have sex with you" he said

"Sex doesn't always equal happiness" Lucas replied

"Yeah, if your not doing it right" Alton joked as Lucas couldn't help but laugh himself at the joke "What's really going on? Because you can't be this disturbed over pictures" he asked his friend

"Crazy, huh? What if everything I thought I wanted, what if I should have gone to Winthrop" Lucas said

"What if? Since when do we play those games. Something change up at Winthrop?" Alton asked

"You could say that?" Lucas said to himself "I got another chance to go to Winthrop, they have a second summer session being offered in the beginning of August" he told him

"Does she know?" Alton asked

"I haven't told her because if I don't decide to go then there's no use in worrying over it" Lucas said

"But your thinking about it" Alton said observing his friends behavior

"I just really started to see myself there this time, I mean I saw myself starting over there. On that campus I was like a rockstar, people knew my name or knew of me, then I come back here, where I got one of the most popular guys in school going after my girl" Lucas said "And I just feel helpless because I can't be better than Noel Kahn" he said

"Here's the key thing though, you've got the girl, Noel can try to get the girl but she has to accept first" Alton said

"But she's all ready accepted, three years ago. Three years ago when she was with Sean, she accepted" Lucas sighed in frustration

"So you think she's going to cheat on you?" Alton asked

"She's cheated on Sean, so what would make me so special for her not to" Lucas said

"She loves you" Alton replied

"And I love her, but I can't get Winthrop out of my head" Lucas said

"Wait, wait. What is going on? Because I'm confused. Do you not want her now because you all of sudden want to go to Winthrop or are you scared that she's going to leave you for Noel? Which one Luke because your coming at all angles and each sound like excuses masked by a real reason" Alton said

"I don't know! That's what frustrating me. I know I love her, but will I ever be good enough for her. At Winthrop, I'm Noel Kahn. At Rosewood, I'm Hermes and I can't be him, not anymore" Lucas said

"You made yourself that, Alison made you that, not Hanna" Alton said

"Yeah" Lucas replied not convincing his friend

"Don't do anything stupid because trust me, you will regret it" Alton warned his friend

* * *

Pacing the floor nervously, Hanna kept try to pump herself up into going into the restroom to see the stick that held her future on it. In her head she could literally picture her mother in tears as she broke the news to her, in her mother's mind she probably thought that Hanna was still a virgin and was still the little girl she gave birth to. Hanna couldn't help but think what her father would say much less do if he found out, that would be all he needed to prove that her mom was unable to take care of Hanna let alone be the head of a household. Just the mere thought of her father even being remotely smug about the situation angered her because she didn't want to let her mother down, but she knew she had in the long run. Nothing about Hanna's future screamed successful because she knew that the biggest and best days of her life were high school days, the trivial things that no one really remembered except to the people that lived for these things. The ringing sounds of her cell phone, quickly tore her from her thought process.

"Hello" Hanna answered her phone not really checking who it was

"Hey, what's up?" Noel said as Hanna took a deep breath in frustration at the fact that the very guy Lucas and her argued about was now calling her

"Now is not a good time, I'm busy" Hanna replied

"Hanna, you've been avoiding me. Just tell me what I did?" Noel quickly replied

"Then that should be a huge hint to you that I really don't want to talk" Hanna said

"Could you at least give me an idea of what I've done to not even get so much as a text from you?" Noel asked

"How about the fact that the kiss on the cheek you so desperately wanted to give me the other night at the party, someone took a picture of it and sent it to Lucas" Hanna told him as Emily looked on strangely at Hanna

"Now its starting to make sense" Noel sighed "Do you want me to talk to him?" he asked

"And say what?" Hanna asked him in disbelief that he honestly thought she'd let him talk to Lucas

"I don't know, sorry. Look this wasn't your fault, it was mine. I'll just tell him I was out of line, anything to get you to talk to me again" Noel reasoned

"Even if you did, I'm not sure we could talk or whatever because its clear you want more than talking to happen" Hanna said

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't want it to happen. I like you, you know that" Noel said

"And I don't like you, I'm with Lucas and I want to continue to be with Lucas" Hanna said "And its getting difficult with you lurking around and pictures being taken" she said

"Well maybe there capturing what's there and what your trying so hard to deny" Noel said

"And comments like that are what I'm talking about" Hanna said "I really can't deal with this" she said

"Hanna, c'mon. Just talk to me" Noel pleaded

"Please, just stop" Hanna said

"And what if I can't?" Noel asked

"Then we really can't be friends because I don't like you in that way, and I'd be stupid to break up my relationship for you" Hanna said "Lose my number" she said before she hung up the phone

* * *

Making his way back to his car after he had soaked up as much sun rays as possible, Lucas knew that he couldn't avoid his house the whole day in fear of Hanna coming over to talk to him, but then again it did surprise him that she hadn't tracked him down to talk either way. Playing with his hair as he had picked up the habit of being semi groomed from being with Hanna so much, he had hoped his focus would go into critiquing his hair on whether he should get a haircut or not rather than think about Hanna and Noel and the possibility of how far they would have taken it if he wasn't her ball and chain that she stayed obligated to. Before he could even make it to his car his cell phone began to ring, tearing him from his thoughts. Looking down at his caller identification he quickly noticed the call was from the Winthrop area, Mr. Smith immediately came to his mind but he knew that he had labeled him under his phone so why would this number be showing up instead of his identified name. Not wanting to analyze the process more than need be, Lucas quickly answered his phone.

"Hello" Lucas answered

"I was wondering if I had called the wrong number or something" Beth laughed

"What? You thought I gave you a fake number or something?" Lucas asked with a slight laugh

"Something like that, I mean you made it a clear point to tell me you had a girlfriend the last time we talked" Beth said causing an awkward moment between the two of them

"Yeah, I kind of did" Lucas shrugged "I'm not used to being willingly talked to by girls, and with me having a girlfriend I feel like any other conversation with another girl is like cheating or something" he said

"Wow! Your first girlfriend, huh?" Beth laughed as she asked him

"I'm a virgin in every sense to things, well except in the manner that counts" Lucas joked

"Luke, girls are going to talk to you, and you should expect them to. Your not exactly ugly or bad looking, I'm pretty sure you'll come into your own when you go to college, and then you might actually rethink having a steady relationship" Beth said

"I think that was a knock on relationships that you just told me, are you suggesting I break up with my girlfriend when I go off to college?" Lucas asked

"I'm not suggesting, I think it'd be wise of you to do so" Beth stated "Am I being too forward?" she asked him immediately after

"No, no. I'm just curious on your take on this. I mean what if you found someone and you really love each other, why should you give up that up just because of the changing of schools?" Lucas asked

"Because in high school we don't know who we are, we just go through the motions of thinking we're young adults and can handle the world all the while mommy and daddy still make decisions for us. In college its your chance to grab the reigns and make decision based on what you feel is right and what is wrong, there's no one that forcing you to think one way. In college you don't have to deal with the dreaded the walk down the hallway, you can tell someone to screw themselves and probably never see that person again as opposed to high school. College is about nurturing who you want to become, not molding you into who you wish to become" Beth explained

"That sounds good, you know its pretty logical" Lucas replied "But love is something that can be nurtured. Its something that has a hold on you whether you let it or not, you know. If someone's worth it, don't you owe it to yourself to fight for it and try your hardest to protect it?" Lucas asked her

"I just think we have a different out take on this topic" Beth replied "I respect your view, all though I think my current singleness blocks the full comprehension of it, but if I were said girl who was in love with you, I'd want you to fight for me too because if there was a chance you'd take my theory into consideration, I'd be more than happy to experience this love you speak of with you" she said

"Now your being forward" Lucas laughed

"A girl has got to try" Beth laughed

* * *

Silence. That's all they had between them in this moment as nothing could take their mind off of what waited for them behind that bathroom door. Grabbing her yearbook, Hanna forced herself to occupy her thoughts into something other than the current problem, she needed to do something productive rather than just sit and feel pathetic. Emily sat on the floor resting her head up against the door as she played with her toe ring, it was the only thing that caught her attention besides the occasional glances over at Hanna to see if she was all right. Looking over at Hanna, she saw her flipping through a yearbook and knew that nothing was beginning to register in her friends mine of the seriousness of this situation. Wanting to ignore her need to look over years past, Emily couldn't manage to do so as she quickly rose to her feet and grabbed the yearbook from Hanna angrily.

"This isn't important" Emily snapped at her friend

"Give it back Em" Hanna demanded her friend

"Why so you can look over some meaningless pictures? No, that's not what you should be focusing on" Emily said

"You said I had to stay here, I didn't have to look at the test, but I had to stay here" Hanna said

"Yeah, stay and think, not stay and look over a pointless book of pictures" Emily said

"Pointless? Well I'm sorry if the pointless book of pictures actually is important to me" Hanna replied "You know you may hate Rosewood High, but I happen to like the pointless stuff that goes on" she said

"And that's what scares me" Emily said

"Why? Why is what I like and what I think important stupid?" Hanna asked angrily

"Because at a time like this, you can't be selfish" Emily said

"A time like this?" Hanna laughed to herself "Wow, I can just see this scenario clear, I'm supposed to be shamed for having sex and possibly getting pregnant? Is that what I should be focusing on right now?" Hanna asked

"Don't be so dramatic, you know what I mean" Emily said

"No, I really don't know what you mean, explain it to your possibly pregnant friend" Hanna said

"Hanna, this is serious. There has got to be something else going on in your head other than looking through a yearbook" Emily said

"You want to know what's going through my mind?" Hanna asked her angrily

"Yes" Emily quickly answered

"I'm wondering if I'm pregnant, how am I going to provide for my kid because my mom can barely provide for the both of us. Then yes, the shallow part of me, is wondering am I going to be The Life of The American Teenager brought to life during my senior year. The real kicker, how am I going to break the news to my boyfriend, who is currently upset with me over stupid pictures that A has sent to him, that I might be pregnant, but hey, I hope this adds to your insecurities about Noel while it goes in to over drive about what type of father he'll be. Oh, and my favorite part of the scenario, can I protect my child from A, when I don't even know who the hell A is. So yeah, I've focused in on the important issues at the moment" Hanna said

"You've got support. We all love you, and we'd make sure that you'd be protected, we just have to find out first" Emily said

"I'm not ready, I'm not ready to get the final seal on my screwed up situation" Hanna said

"What about Lucas? He deserves to know" Emily said

"Lucas deserves a lot, but not a child, not when we're seventeen" Hanna said before tears welled up in her eyes "Oh, God" she cried in frustration

"It took two people to make this happen, so its no way shape or form your fault" Emily told her friend

"This isn't suppose to happen. This wasn't suppose to be my issue" Hanna cried

"You were having sex, every time you have sex, you raise that possibility" Emily said

"So it just comes down to the old cliché say, abstinence is always best" Hanna said

"Basically" Emily said

"I guess I should take the grown up approach then" Hanna said before she got up from her seat on the bed and made her way over towards her bathroom with Emily following behind. Taking a deep breath before turning the knob to open the door to her bathroom, Hanna looked on at the test strip that contained the answer to her current future. Giving Emily one final look before moving forward, Hanna grabbed the stick and looked on at the results.

"What does it say?" Emily asked her before Hanna nearly began to hyperventilate

"I'm not pregnant" Hanna sighed thankfully

* * *

Pulling into the driveway, Lucas was relieved to finally be home as there was only so much time he could spend down at the lake before it looked a little creepy. Long after Alton had left him to wonder about the decisions ahead of him and the decisions he's all ready made, Lucas really began to put into perspective the things that mattered to him, the things that motivate him to this point. Getting out of his car, Lucas tucked his keys away in his pocket as he took in the night air of Rosewood before he found himself reminiscing about the Winthrop night air as well. His mind went back and forth as he still had the idea of going to the summer session in Winthrop plaguing him, but just as he thought the battle in his head was getting intense, he looked over at the reason what made him stay in the long run. Making his way over towards her house, Lucas felt like a little kid making his way downstairs in hopes of getting a peak at their toys. Knocking swiftly on her door, Lucas stood on the doorstep awaiting for the door to be opened, for so long he had just walked in to the house but with the circumstances, he felt he owed her that respect in letting him in herself. Opening the door, Hanna was surprised to see Lucas so soon.

"You knock now? Since when has that happened?" Hanna asked him as she joined him outside on the porch

"I figured since our last conversation that I lost my privilege to just walk in on you" Lucas said

"Your still my boyfriend, so you still have the privileges" Hanna replied grabbing a seat on steps

"Are you all right? You look like you've been crying" Lucas noticed of his girlfriend as sat beside her on the steps

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just hate when we fight" Hanna replied as he leaned in to give her a sweet kiss

"I hate it to" Lucas said after breaking the kiss

"So how do we avoid it, I mean I know there's nothing set in stone that will guarantee no more fights, but I like when we're us" Hanna said

"I think I have to take the blame for the fight. There's been so much going on lately with Toby's funeral, the crap between Alton and I, so I just feel like its coming from everywhere now and I don't know how to stop it. So when I got that picture of Noel and you, both of them. I just felt like it was all just a dream, like my reality was coming in, and that you were starting to realize that you should be with someone else. That I could never be with the Queen Bee of Rosewood High" Lucas told her

"Lucas, for a smart guy, you are absolutely stupid when it comes to girls" Hanna said "I didn't lose my virginity to a mistake, I lost my virginity to someone that I happen to love. I. Love. You and that's not changing anytime soon" she told him

"Yeah, but its Noel Kahn we're talking about" Lucas sighed

"And there will be others who will be hotter than Noel, but you've got to trust me, when I tell you that I love you and I wouldn't hurt you like that" Hanna said

"You loved Sean, but you still did what you did" Lucas said

"I never loved Sean the way I love you" Hanna said as she began to tear up even more so at the thought of even losing Lucas "I love the way you look at me, you look at me like I'm the most beautiful girl in the world. I love the way when a joke is funny to you, you scrunch your nose up and give the biggest of smiles as you laugh. I love you so much that I pray for you more than I do myself, I could go on and on but there are no amount of words that can portray how I love you" she told him

"Its funny. Because I love you back the same way" Lucas sighed before he wrapped her up in a bear hug

"I know I screw up, but I don't want to lose you, you've got to believe that" Hanna muttered as she hid her face in the crook of his neck

"Yeah, I know. I'm not going anywhere" Lucas said

"This whole mess reminds me of that song by The Fray" Hanna said as she rested her head on his shoulder

"Which one?" Lucas asked

"I think all of them" Hanna said as Lucas took a moment to think about it

"Yeah, maybe so" Lucas smiled weakly as he looked at Hanna from the top of her head view he had of her just thinking to himself that he hoped she'd be worth it in the end

* * *

Getting up to grab his refill on his soda, Alton placed the money on top of the counter before making his way back to the table. Looking on at the plate in pure and utter disgust, he knew this was the only way to get results. Just as he began to further observe the plate in front of him, Reese came inside the café. Scanning the room a bit, in search of Alton, she quickly spotted him and made her way over to the table. Grabbing the seat across from him, she found it weird that he had taken the liberty to order her favorite dish from the café for her, which was completely weird to her, seeing as they were sworn enemies, well at least in their minds. Enjoying the fact that he was clearly trying to suck up to her for some odd reason, Reese made him sit there for quite some time as she just munched away at her food, making him suffer at the site of her.

"How was your day?" Alton asked politely trying to be nice

"Oh, it was fabulous. I'm glad you asked because I would love to go into detail about what made it so wonderful" Reese smile wickedly

"Lets not, I mean I don't want you to waste a perfectly wonderful day on me because I'm sure I wouldn't enjoy it" Alton said "Oh, how I wish I could" he said

"If you give it a try, I'm sure you would. Shall I start with morning?" Reese asked him

"Lets start with the end" Alton quickly replied

"Or should we start with midnight leading up to the climatic meeting with the scum of the earth" Reese said

"Only you would think of your days of patheticness as some epic tale, its cute, but pathtic" Alton said

"This coming from the porn advertiser. How well do you know Hard Cowboys?" Reese laughed to herself

"How often do you wish you had one?" Alton fired back "Oh, but then again when it comes to you, he might be a soft cowboy" he added

"Screw you" Reese said before she got up from her seat

"Wait, I didn't mean to say that or have this unnecessary banter" Alton said as he grabbed her arm

"Yes, you did" Reese replied

"Yeah, but I should have done it after I asked for my favor first, you know, true user style" Alton replied honestly

"You're an ass" Reese replied as she took her seat again "But an honest one" she said

"Thank you. I never thought you'd reward me for being an ass" Alton said in confusion "But I'll take it" he said

"So what favor do you need?" Reese asked

"Do you still have that friend of yours who's quite handy with hacking?" Alton asked her

"Why? I thought you were a wiz when it came to computers, why do you need outside help?" Reese asked

"Because the information I need requires some further hacking, as in beyond what I can do" Alton said

"Number 5 can only do a limited amount, something is wrong with that picture" Reese laughed "Why do you even need to hack into something to begin with, is this something illegal?" she asked

"Hacking is illegal branaic, I just need to get answers" Alton said

"Answers? Your scaring me now" Reese said becoming a bit concerned with where this conversation was headed

"I want some answers as far as what really happened that summer with Toby" Alton said "And I have a feeling that the version we've been fed isn't the correct one" he told Reese as she looked at him quizzically before she picked up her phone and looked through her contact list before dialing it

"Hey, Jake. This is Reese, I was calling about a job I need you to do for a friend. We can discuss pricing when you call back, but please call me back soon, its important" Reese said as she was obviously talking to a answering machine of the guy named Jake

"Thank you" Alton said

"For Toby" Reese replied


	24. Silence is Loud Enough

**Chapter Twenty Three - Silence Is Loud Enough**

Dragging himself out of bed, he confused him to find the spot next to him in the bed empty, especially when they had slept together the night before. They pretty much had her mother's schedule down tight, to where they even knew when she was going to finish eating her dinner, that's how freakishly good they were. Although he knew it'd be a good while before her mom would come home, Lucas didn't feel right walking through the house with his chest bare because he felt some ounce of respect should be given to her mom. Looking in the mirror, a bit confused as to how he had put on a few pounds, which was strange because he had always considered himself to be at a solid weight, but he just found it to be weird that he was actually gaining. Grabbing his shirt to put on, Lucas made his way downstairs hoping to find her but found a complete silence downstairs. Scanning the room from the bottom of the staircase, he slowly flicked on the light switch to find balloon and streamers hanging up in the kitchen with Hanna in the middle of it with a Happy Birthday hat on top of her head.

"Happy Birthday!" Hanna yelled excitedly before she rushed up to him to give him a kiss

"What is all of this?" Lucas asked breaking the kiss before he looked around at all the decoration she had put up for him "When did you manage to do all of this?" he asked

"There's a reason why we had to go to bed early" Hanna replied

"Oh, so that's the reason you didn't put out last night" Lucas laughed before she hit him on the arm playfully

"I just wanted to make this day special for you, seeing as we haven't really had the big holidays as a couple yet, so I thought a birthday was a perfect reason to celebrate" Hanna said

"We haven't had holidays, have we?" Lucas laughed as he pulled her into a hug

"With everything, I think we need to celebrate" Hanna said

"With everything? What everything? I think we've been good" Lucas laughed as he kissed her neck "But I greatly appreciate everything" he said giving her his full attention

"So your eighteen now, how exciting is that" Hanna smiled at him "That means your like dating a minor now" she laughed

"Jailbait" Lucas laughed "It actually makes things interesting though" he smiled

"Really? Well I hope so. We have to do some shopping today" Hanna said as she lead him over to the kitchen counter to grab a seat before she made their plates for breakfast

"You've gone all out" Lucas smiled "This looks good" he said looking on at the breakfast she had prepared for them

"Your not the only one…..well, yeah, you're the only one who can cook" Hanna laughed "I have a big party planned for you tonight, Alton helped me put it together" she told him

"Should I be afraid of this, I mean the last time Alton put together a party, it contained tits bouncing uncontrollably" Lucas said

"Yeah, that was sickening, but it worked" Hanna said thinking about the last party Alton and her planned together "But this will be fun, this will be a night we'll remember" she smiled

"I hope so" Lucas smiled before he leaned in to kiss her on the cheek "I should be the only one to do that" he said

"You're the only one that makes it feel right" Hanna smiled "You've been listening to my ipod, right?" she asked

"Yeah, I've manage to cover all the music on your play list" Lucas smiled

"Well then you should be real familiar with that song, Birthday Sex" Hanna smiled devilishly at him as he couldn't help but imagine what tonight would hold for the two of them

* * *

It was always a shock to Alton, whenever he would see Mr. Smith now he just couldn't believe the double life he had going on. It was like Hannah Montana coming to life to where he could actually understand the whole premise behind the show on the Disney Channel. Looking around his small, but quaint house that he had at Rosewood compared to the mansion like house that Lucas described to him while he visited up at Winthrop. Just as he was losing himself in the mystery that was Gavin Smith, Alton could hear rumblings from upstairs, which was weird because he knew that Mr. Smith was in the kitchen grabbing something to snack on. Stepping away from his adventures of snooping, he looked over at the staircase to hear footsteps coming down and before he could let his mind run wild, he saw a beauty before his very own eyes. Alton nearly dropped his mouth in amazement of this girl because he could quickly see that she was not like the other girls in Rosewood, just as he found himself drooling on at the site of her, Mr. Smith came out holding snacks in his hand.

"Don't you dare" Mr. Smith said noticing that Alton was staring at his neice

"What? What?" Alton said nervously as he looked at Mr. Smith

"I see you" Mr. Smith whispered angrily at Alton before they were joined by the young woman

"Oh, I was starving" Beth said as she grabbed a snack from the plate Mr. Smith had his hands before turning to look at Alton "Hi" she smiled

"Hi, the name is Alton" Alton said as suave as possible

"Cut it out" Mr. Smith told him

"I heard Uncle, you two are related?" Alton asked

"Yes, we are" Beth smiled "And your relation to my Uncle?" she asked

"Student. Pupil. Light at the dark tunnel" Alton flirted

"Ass to hole" Mr. Smith added

"Are you allowed to even say that to a student?" Alton asked

"Oh, but you're my pupil and I say whatever I feel to my pupil, light at the dark tunnel" Mr. Smith laughed

"So what brings you to this neck of the woods?" Alton asked Beth

"I'm just visiting my Uncle Gavin while I'm on break from college" Beth said

"You go to college. Your like my dream come true" Alton smiled to himself

"And can easily be your nightmare" Mr. Smith told him

"Uncle, its harmless. Don't get so upset" Beth told her Uncle

"Do you go to Winthrop? Lead the double life as well as your uncle here?" Alton asked

"No, I lead the just graduated from high school and am starting in college life. I live up in Winthrop but I came down to hang out with my favorite uncle and to go to this party I was invited to" Beth said

"Wait, your Beth. Beth. Beth. You know Lucas?" Alton asked surprised to find out that this Beth knew Lucas

"Yes, I met him when he came up to Winthrop for the weekend. My uncle speaks about him all the time so it feels like I all ready know him" Beth said

"And you couldn't talk about me?" Alton asked Mr. Smith

"I try not to make myself sick a lot" Mr. Smith said

"So are you going to come to the party, its Lucas's surprise party and I think he'll be in for surprise" Alton said

"Now I remember, you're the best friend, who has a tendency to be desperate and sex obsessed" Beth said

"See, someone talks about me" Alton said relieved that Lucas had at least mentioned him to this beauty before his eyes

"Yes, they speak kind words of you" Mr. Smith laughed to himself

"So will you be needing a date for this evening?" Alton asked her

"No" Mr. Smith replied quickly for the young girl

"I think I will" Beth said looking at her uncle sternly

"Nice. Well I think Lucas will be happy to have everyone there for his party, seeing as his lists of friends have increased majorly" Alton said

* * *

Giving Hanna a break to set up for the party, Lucas was glad that he was able to squeeze in some time down at the comic book store. It had been some time since he had updated his collection and he had hoped since he was a regular in the store, that the owner would have put some aside for him, he doubted it, but it could happen, he did find himself to be charming at times. More than thrilled with all the stuff he had seen, Lucas couldn't wait to get back to his house so that he could read them before the party started. Quickly making his way to his car, Lucas was stopped in his sprint to the car once Reese had pulled her car up and parked next to him in the parking lot. He had thought about just getting in the car and leaving but he couldn't pull an Alton, his conscience wouldn't allow him to do so.

"Hey Luke" Reese said as she got out of her car "Happy Birthday, my friend" she smiled as she pulled him into a hug

"Thanks" Lucas said "What are you doing here? I never took you for comics, especially since you use to give Al and I such a hard time about it" he said

"Well I was planning on giving you a gift certificate to this establishment but since you're here, the surprise is over" Reese said

"Its thoughtful that you'd even come here to do so" Lucas smiled "So are you coming tonight to Hanna's surprise party for me?" he asked

"I thought it was suppose to be a surprise, then how do you know?" Reese asked

"She kind of told me because she was thrilled" Lucas laughed "I'm actually pretty excited about it, seeing as I usually don't have parties for my birthday" he said

"How can you say that? Remember that one year when your grandma made all your favorite dishes for your birthday, I loved it" Reese said

"Yeah, well, I get that all the time though. I mean I love my grandma's cooking and am happy when she comes in to town to cook, but that's a given. I've never had something that is so normal for my age" Lucas said

"Now your just singing a swan song. It doesn't matter how you celebrate, it just matters that people take the time to recognize your big day" Reese said "So have you guys heard from Jake yet?" she asked

"You guys? Why would I hear from Jake?" Lucas asked

"Because Alton had asked about him. He wanted Jake to do something for him" Reese said

"Al wanted a job done, regarding what? Jake does all that hacking crap" Lucas said

"It has to do with Toby. He wants to figure out what happened that summer, he's not buying the sold story" Reese said

"What prompted this?" Lucas asked

"I don't know. He bought me dinner and was really kissing my ass for this information, I was so impressed that I had to give him the info for Jake" Reese said

"Yeah, Jake, who's had his run in with the law, that was a smart idea" Lucas sighed "What else did Al tell you?" he asked her

"Wait, he hasn't talked to you about it?" Reese asked

"No, that slipped his mind obviously to do so" Lucas said

"And I guess this makes me a big mouth" Reese said

"Yeah, well I'm glad you did tell me because by him doing this, he's going to piss off a lot of people and open up a wound that might be healing with the family" Lucas said

"Aren't we accepting of the social ideas and beliefs now" Reese said noticing that Lucas wasn't questioning along with Alton like he usually would "Luke, you were one of Toby's best friends. Aren't you the slightest bit curious as to why Toby would all of sudden supposedly kill Alison?" she asked

"Yeah, I mean I know he wouldn't, but that contradicts with what happened on the boat" Lucas said "Its like two different versions are out there, and I'm having a hard time choosing which one existed on his final days" he said

"What about the one you were best friends with? Isn't that the one that should matter?" Reese asked him "I mean if there was slight possibility that Rosewood's finest casted Toby off as the bad guy when he really wasn't, wouldn't you want to know?" she asked

"Yeah, but has it really come to the point of hacking our way to the truth?" Lucas asked

"Apparently Al thinks so, and that coming from him saying much" Reese said

"Al is all over the place these days, I mean one minute he can't stand to talk about Toby and now he's trying to uncover truths about what happened three years ago. Believe me I want to find out what happened? But I don't want escape another issue and that's the fact that Al has yet to really deal with what happened on the boat" Lucas said

"You mean, Alton killing Toby?" Reese asked "Maybe this is his way of getting his peace of mind" she said

* * *

After finishing up her rounds at the mall, Hanna had stopped by her house to take a quick shower before heading over to the photo gallery where the party was being held. Lucas had only taken Hanna there on special occasions, and the only one so far had been on their re-do first date, where it was memorable in the fact that they had consummated they're relationship there as well, but that wasn't the details that anyone needed to know. With her pregnancy scare, Hanna had been cautious in having sex, and she hadn't hoped on telling Lucas, but the more excuses she made for not wanting to have sex, she couldn't help but think he was worried that maybe the issues still existed between them. In her mind, she wanted to be over prepared, so much so that she even wanted to have Lucas wear condoms, even though she was on birth control, everything needed to go back to normal, it needed to be like it once was and she was trying her hardest to get it back there. Hearing the door slam from downstairs, Hanna quickly poked her head out her room to see her mother looking over the bills like she always had whenever she came home.

"Hey mom" Hanna called from upstairs

"Hey sweetie. How was your day?" Hanna's mom asked her as she made her up the stairs to Hanna's room

"Good, and you?" Hanna asked as he mother stood in her doorway while she picked her outfit for the night

"I'm doing really good. I'm really good to be honest" Hanna's mother smiled

"I'm glad. You deserve it" Hanna smiled at her mother "So what's got you doing really good?" she asked her mother

"I have an amazing daughter who is holding down the home front for me while I'm at work. Then what's really got me smiling is that I just got a promotion at my job" Hanna's mother revealed before Hanna ran over to her mom to hug her and give her a kiss on the cheek

"That's great. Mom, that's fantastic" Hanna praised her mother "So what does that mean?" she asked

"That means we'll slowly but sure get back on our feet again, and I won't be working such crazy hours" Hanna's mother said

"That's is really good" Hanna said "I was starting to miss our Julia Roberts movie fest and pigging out on butter pecan ice cream" she joked

"Yeah, I miss that as well" Hanna's mother smiled "I'm just glad because I think I've been missing out on valuable time with you, and I guess that hasn't sat right with me for the past couple of days" she said

"The past couple of days? Glad I was always on your mind" Hanna laughed

"You know what I mean. I just got the sense that you were in trouble or scared of something, that's all. Are you by any chance, in trouble?" Hanna's mother asked her

"No, I'm not in any trouble. I'm just spending time with my friends and Lucas of course" Hanna smiled

"Lucas. How is Lucas doing these days?" Hanna's mother asked

"He's good. We're actually celebrating his birthday tonight, I'm throwing him a part down at his photo gallery" Hanna told her mother

"That sounds like fun, and must be why your rushing" Hanna's mother observed of her pace as she went about the room

"Well the party is in a few hours, and I want to look good, but if you want to hang out tonight, I can cut things short and we can fit in one Julia Roberts movie" Hanna smiled

"No, your not cutting anything short. Go, and enjoy yourself. We'll have plenty of time to enjoy ourselves and some Julia Roberts" Hanna's mother smiled just before Hanna's cell phone began to ring

"This must be Luke now, he probably wants to hang out before we head over" Hanna said before she didn't as much check her caller identification to see who was calling her before picking up the phone "Hey you" she answered sweetly

"That's a new way of answering your phone. Hello Hanna" Hanna's father said before Hanna literally froze

"I thought I told you not to contact me or even acknowledge my existence, which I thought was pretty simple because you pretty much do it all ready" Hanna replied as Hanna's mother looked on concerned as to who she was talking to

"I want to talk to you. I'm not going to pretend that my own daughter doesn't exist" Hanna's father said

"Well you've been doing it? I don't even know why I'm talking to you, there's no point" Hanna said

"Hanna, wait?" Hanna's father protested before she hung up the phone

"Who was that?" Hanna's mother asked as Hanna grabbed her clothes, preparing to take a shower

"Someone that we kicked to the curb a long time ago, and have been the better because of it" Hanna said before she made her way into her restroom, closing the door behind her

* * *

Carrying out the last of the boxes that were tossed to the side after he unpacked all the food and drinks that he had bought for the party, Alton smashed them up so that they could free up some space in the dumpster down at the gallery. Looking around at the potential the gallery property had, it amazed him as to why Lucas hadn't turned this spot into a permanent party scene. Of course he knew that Lucas wasn't too much into the party scene but with a girl like Hanna as his girlfriend he had hoped that Lucas would focus on expanding his popularity, which would ultimately expand his as well. Making his way back to the front of the gallery, Alton was surprised to see Jake sitting on the steps waiting for him. Jake was your typical nerd that had dabbled with legal and illegal deeds, but Jake always knew his crap, especially when it came to hacking. Reese had met Jake awhile back at a summer camp, and the two were hot and heavy, but Reese, who was always books first and nookie later, blew him off for the next McGraw-Hill textbook. It was a bit surprising that Jake still had a thing for Reese, but Lucas and Alton always knew that Reese wouldn't give him the time of day.

"Jake?" Alton asked unsure if that was really him

"Here in the flesh Alton. So I got a call from the lovely Reese and here I am" Jake said as he got up from his seat

"Yeah, lovely is hard to believe…um, so I need your help" Alton said

"With the specialty or the cover?" Jake asked

"I need your specialty. I need you to look into police records, medical records, boarding school files, anything on Toby Cavanaugh in the span of three years, preferably three summers ago" Alton told Jake

"Whoah, that's a lot of looking. Are you sure you can afford me?" Jake asked

"Lets just say, I'll help Reese see the good in you" Alton smiled at the dark haired boy

"You can't do that, you can't play on my emotions for the girl" Jake said

"Look, I need this badly. So if I have to use your emotions to get this done, then I'm going to do it" Alton said

"Last I checked, Reese and you barely even like each other. I thought your common like was Lucas?" Jake asked

"Yeah, well I can turn on the charm when I want to. So will you be able to do this job for me?" Alton asked

"Okay, lets say I do this for you, with the promise of you putting in a good word with Reese for me, but we still have to talk numbers" Jake said

"How much will this run me?" Alton asked

"This could range from five to seven?" Jake said

"What dollars?" Alton asked as Jake quickly laughed in amusement

"No, hundreds" Jake said

"What? Are you insane?" Alton asked

"I'm doing a lot of digging for you, digging that could get me thrown in jail. The money you give goes towards red taping my footsteps and making it nearly impossible on it getting linked back to me" Jake said

"Fine. You'll get your money. Luckily for you I make that amount easily, but I'm not looking forward to dashing my college dreams in order to pay you" Alton sighed as Spencer made her way over towards the two complexly unknown to Alton "Can I get an exact amount as to how much I owe you?" he asked before Jake gave him a look to hush on the money talks when Spencer joined them

"Sorry, I couldn't make it to your party, but send Lucas my best" Jake smiled "I'll catch up with you later Al" he told him before he gave a quick nod to Spencer just before he left

"Who was that?" Spencer asked

"Hello, nice to see you too" Alton replied in his usual sarcastic self "What are you doing here so early? I thought you had a date with an S.A.T prep book or something?" he asked her

"Cute" Spencer smile sarcastically as she looked inside at the décor of the party for tonight "Looks good, you could potentially be a party planner with the way you pull things through" she said

"Nice to know I have a Hastings approval, I can now sleep at night" Alton joked

"So what time are you getting here tonight?" Spencer asked

"I don't know, probably after I go home and shower. Why? What time are you coming?" Alton asked

"Oh, because…I was thinking maybe we could come together" Spencer said

"Together? Wouldn't Alex have a problem with that, you know I assume we'd be coming as friends but still" Alton said

"Alex and I have called it quits" Spencer said

"Is this a recent development?" Alton asked a bit interested in Spencer's newly single status

"No. I've just been putting off dating…due to my…studying habits" Spencer said ashamed to mention the last part of her statement as Alton laughed to herself

"How cute? So you ask me as your rebound guy" Alton laughed

"No, your not my rebound guy. I just figured since you were coming, and you're a guy, that we could come together" Spencer said

"I'm sure we could come together" Alton joked

"See, that's exactly what I want to avoid with you. Your so deep in the gutter your starting to look filthy" Spencer replied

"Hey, you're the one who wants to take a trip to the gutter. Don't act high and mighty because you can't handle the filth, in fact, I think you want to know just how filthy I could be. Hastings might actually enjoy getting nasty" Alton said in a smooth and sensual tone as he moved in closer towards Spencer causing her to become more nervous than usual

"You talk too much for someone who has little to show for his so called nasty skills" Spencer replied

"Its an act, but is it really" Alton laughed

"So are we going together or not?" Spencer asked

"Uh…no" Alton replied

"What? What was with all the banter that kind of spilled into sexual innuendo's?" Spencer asked

"I was intrigued, I mean you always have a stick up your ass, its refreshing to know the stick is on a vacation" Alton smiled "Besides I'm going with someone else" he told her

"You flirt with me, all the while your going with someone else…how sick can you be?" Spencer asked suddenly repulsed by him

"The game never ends. I like it, but it never ends" Alton said shaking his head in disbelief on how she can revert back to her stuck up ways so quickly

* * *

As much as she tried to deny it, Hanna found herself a bit shaken up by the fact that her father just felt the need to call her. Of course that would be normal for any father to do so with their daughter but not between Hanna and her father, not after what he did to her mother and her. Many nights she had more than blamed herself for being the reason why her parents split up, and when she turned to bulimia due to her insecurities on top of insecurities coming from both Alison and her father, she damn near felt like she was closer to the grave than she had ever been. Standing in the mirror, she applied her make up like she always had but she felt like she was different, brand new in the sense. She was stronger and she was wiser, and this version of her wouldn't let her father come in to mess that up, not by a chance. Having a few moments available before heading over to the party, all Hanna wanted to do was talk to Lucas about the phone call. Making her way inside his bedroom like she always had, she laughed at how routine things were with him, noticing that he left his lap top on, Hanna made her way over to shut it down because if it were up to her, he'd have no time to click away at some keys with the plans she had in mind for the both of them. Before she could hit the shut down button, she noticed that he had a new message in his inbox, figuring that it was probably something from Jamestown, she couldn't help but read to see how the progress was going. Opening up the message she noticed instantly that it wasn't in fact from Jamestown but was from someone named Beth Parker. Intrigued with the fact that it was a female, Hanna had hoped that this was a faculty member at the school but from the preview she read, there was nothing school about her message and before she knew it, she found herself drawn in to see what else Beth Parker was sending to Lucas

* * *

Looking on at his watch continuously, Lucas became frantic as to where Hanna could be. They had agreed to meet up at his house and come over together, but when he made it back to his room, she was nowhere to be found or didn't even show up at the time she had said she would. It was normal for her to be late, but when he went over to her house to check on her, she wasn't there either. He had hoped that Hanna was trying to surprise him and was all ready at the party, but once again he struck out on that idea as well. With guests starting to come, he had become more worried than usual because if anyone whom he thought would be here by now, it was Hanna. Lucas pulled out his cell phone and began to call her but it only went straight to voicemail, just as he was putting his phone away he noticed Alton coming his way. He gave a quick glance but who was with Alton is what got his attention. Giving Lucas a hug when Alton and Beth had made their way over to him, Lucas looked at Beth, shocked that she was here.

"Happy Birthday" Alton said happily to his friend

"Thank you" Lucas said

"Well, I'm pretty sure you know who this is" Alton said stepping aside to show off Beth "I invited a Winthrop friend" he smiled

"Yeah, you did" Lucas replied nervously "When did you get here?" he asked her

"I got here this morning. Remember I told you about it" Beth smiled

"Yeah, I'm starting to remember. Uh, can I talk to Alton real quick, we're having a problem with the ice that needs to be addressed" Lucas lied trying to usher Beth away

"Okay, well I'll see you inside" Beth said before she made her way inside

"Dude, what the hell?" Lucas said hitting Alton on the arm angrily

"What? Why the punch?" Alton asked confused

"Why did you invite Beth?" Lucas asked

"Because she's your friend from Winthrop apparently. I just went through your contact list and invited everyone you knew, then I went through Hanna's seeing as you don't know a lot of people" Alton said

"I really wish you wouldn't have done that" Lucas said running his fingers through his hair nervously

"Why?" Alton asked

"Because….you just shouldn't have" Lucas told him before Hanna walked over towards the guys as Lucas did his best to remain cool

"There's a party inside, what are you two doing out here?" Hanna asked

"I was just looking for you. Where have you been?" Lucas asked

"I was just catching up on some things, but I'm all up to speed now" Hanna smiled at Lucas "C'mon, we can't keep our guests waiting" she said before she made her way inside the gallery with Lucas and Alton following behind her. Pulling Lucas to the side while Alton joined Beth, who was sitting by herself at a table "Is that her?" she asked him catching him off guard with her question

"Who?" Lucas asked her nervously

"Is that Beth Parker?" Hanna asked looking him dead in the eyes before a moment of silence came between them which was hard to do in a noisy room such as the one they were in "Yeah, silence speaks louder than words" she said before she walked away from Lucas as all he could do was watch her leave knowing that even though he had said anything, that she knew all there was to know about Beth and his involvement with her


	25. Queen, King, and The Pauper

**Chapter Twenty Four- Queen, King, and the Pauper**

Pulling up into the driveway, Lucas felt as if he were going through the motions of this day, with no real purpose as to why he even traveled from place to place but just to go from point A to point B. Stopping in his journey over to the front door, Lucas pulled out his cell phone to see if she had made any attempt to call him back or text him back, any thing to show that she wanted to talk to him. He didn't know why he had lied, well he knew partially, but he didn't know why his first instinct was to punish her for the same act he was himself committing with someone else at his future college, or his possible college. His heart sank a little lower as it just became more clear that he had screwed up, and that he was to blame. Going through his contact list, he thought a few moments before hitting the call button but had high hopes that all it would take was a phone call to take a step in the right direction.

"Hello" Hanna answered the phone

"Hey" Lucas said shyly "I'm surprised you picked up" he laughed awkwardly

"Why wouldn't I pick up?" Hanna asked

"Because I thought you were mad at me" Lucas said

"Oh, you bet I'm mad. I mean not only are you a hypocrite but you're a liar as well" Hanna replied

"I'm sorry" Lucas pleaded

"Sorry right now isn't going to cut it. I need time to think, and just time to not want to strangle the crap out of you" Hanna said

"How much time do you need?" Lucas asked "Not that I'm trying to rush you" he said

"I don't know…." Hanna said before she quickly heard Lucas's name being called by Beth in the back round "Wow, that didn't take long" she said pissed that he had the nerve to call her while he was with her

"No, no, its not what you think" Lucas pleaded

"At this point Luke, I really don't give a damn. I'd be fine with you have a girl as a friend, but when you lie about it and the fact that she clearly is into you, then you turn around a scold me for what wasn't happening with Noel" Hanna teared into him before she hung the phone

"Dammit" Lucas groaned realizing she had hung up on him

"Hey" Beth said as she walked over towards him "Did I interrupt something?" she then asked as she observed his facial expressions

"No, I just….nothing, never mind. How are you?" Lucas asked

"I'm doing good, just enjoying all that Rosewood has to offer" Beth smiled "You looked like a debby downer at your party last night, what's up?" she asked as they both leaned up against his car

"Nothing really. Things just got out of hand" Lucas said rubbing his eyes in frustration "There are some things I should have done or said, and I chose not to" he said

"As?" Beth asked

"You. I should have explained you" Lucas said bluntly and to the point

"Let me put my high school hat on and just jump to what I think your talking about and that is your girlfriend didn't like that I came to your party" Beth concluded from what Lucas was saying

"Don't, don't patronize the situation" Lucas told her

"How am I patronizing the situation? It shouldn't have even been a situation to begin with, nothing was wrong about me going" Beth said "I didn't drape myself all over you last night" she said

"About Hanna, don't patronize me on her. Yes, we're so high school but I happen to love my girlfriend, and I want to still be dating her a year from now when I'm in college. So just save the wisdom speech" Lucas said

"So why didn't you tell her, about me? I mean if I'm so wrong about characterizing your relationship, then why not tell her the truth?" Beth asked

"Because, you're the symbolism of Winthrop and I don't want her to think I like it or regret my decision. Hanna, is my Rosewood. She's the reason I stayed" Lucas said

"If I'm the symbolism of your future, then what is Hanna now?" Beth asked him

"She's the girl I want, and this flirting or whatever is going on between us, it ends because its not worth hurting her" Lucas said "I was a jackass about her and some other guy, and I didn't have the guts to reveal my own crap that I was hiding" he said

"Okay, so now I'm to blame for your lies. I wasn't the only one flirting, Luke. Yes, you made it clear you had a girlfriend, but you kept coming back" Beth said

"Because I was confused?" Lucas replied

"About me or her?" Beth asked

"About staying or leaving" Lucas replied confused as to why she would think that their was truly something going on with them "I was confused about if I made a bad choice in turning down Winthrop, and the opportunity has come up again for me to leave, and I just felt like….I felt like it was a sign" he said

"Look I can care less if there is you and I because frankly if your this wishy washy then I don't want a relationship or a hook up with you, but if have to question a life changing experience then maybe deep down you know you want to leave" Beth said

"Or maybe deep down I'm realizing that what I've wanted all this time is something I all ready have" Lucas replied quickly

"Don't be a fool Lucas. Love is rare and so is this opportunity" Beth pleaded with him

"I've finally made up my mind, its taken awhile but I know what my choice will be about Winthrop, and its been the same choice since the last time" Lucas said feeling as if he was having a revelation "I'm turning it down" he told her

"Think about this Lucas" Beth told him

"I have and it's the only thing that makes sense right now, that and the fact that I'm a jackass" Lucas said before he got back into his car

"I thought you were suppose to see my uncle?" Beth asked

"I'll be back" Lucas told her before he started the engine and pulled out of the driveway

* * *

It had been a huge step for Hanna to finally admit and address her problem, let alone her insecurities about her body, so the moment she received her certificate of completion for finishing her counseling program she felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders and she could breath again. Looking around the room, like she had plenty of times before, she realized that the people that all sat gathered around in the circle had gone through the same journey as her and some she had become friends with. Gathering her stuff preparing to leave, Hanna was met by the group leader, Gale. Since joining the group, Gale had made it her mission to take Hanna under her wing and let her know that she would be taken care of because Hanna was the youngest member of the group. Making sure that everyone had cleared out, Gale made Hanna sit down to have a conversation with her.

"Okay, so miss lady, what's been going on with you?" Gale asked in her usual prying way that made Hanna laugh at her originality

"Nothing, I've just got a lot on my mind" Hanna sighed

"Which would explain why you weren't your usual chipper self. You know I see all, I run this" Gale joked "Does it have to do with your companion, he's usually here, but not today?" she asked

"A bit, but its stuff with my dad as well" Hanna said

"Let me guess, he's trying to contact you?" Gale asked

"He called me yesterday, and he wanted to talk but I didn't give him the time of day to do so" Hanna replied

"Why? Maybe he wants to work things out" Gale suggested

"Gale, he's the reason my bulimia kicked in, in the first place, that and a very demanding best friend" Hanna said "Besides after everything he put my mom through with the house, there's no way I could just ignore all of that" she explained

"Okay so you solved that problem then" Gale concluded as Hanna looked at her strangely

"I think its more complicated then that" Hanna laughed

"No, its really not. You choose who you surround yourself with. What have we always talked about in the meetings?" Gale asked

"Be in the positive" Hanna answered her questioned "But I'm not understanding how this applies to my situation" she said

"It applies to everything if you buy into the concept. Being in the positive is about surrounding yourself with people who allow you to stay positive about life. The moment you start to question who you have in your life, that's when you need to ask yourself, are they worth me worrying over, and if they're not then let them go. Just let them go, you don't even have to tell them, send them a text message saying goodbye, and call it a day, but don't think you can turn someone who is negative to you into someone who can be positive for you" Gale told her

"Why do you always simplify my life so much better than I can" Hanna laughed

"Because I've lived a lot longer than you. So what about the boyfriend?" Gale asked

"Don't worry, he's in the positive, he's just not in it currently" Hanna said

"Oh, I don't doubt he's not someone positive for you. I see the way he looks at you and how you look at him. I see how he supports you, I think he would support you even if you just sit on a toilet, he'll be there to cheer you on" Gale joked "He's a good one, mama knows that" she said

"Really? Yeah, he is" Hanna laughed "We're just going through a rough patch right now, that we both need to address and get past" she said

"See there you go, in the positive all ready" Gale smiled

"Aw, I love you" Hanna laughed jokingly as she hugged her group leader

* * *

Unable to get ahold of Hanna yet again, Lucas went into the office to do something productive with his time rather than mope about Hanna to anyone who would listen. Coming into the office, he could instantly spot his friend sitting at his desk looking on at his stack of paperwork for the day. It wasn't unusual to see him here this early because Alton usually enjoyed the alone time in the office due to his thinking pattern that was only enhanced by his alone time. Getting himself situated in what tasks were at hand for him to perform for the day, Lucas did his best to focus but he found himself looking on at his phone once again hoping that Hanna had contacted him in some way. In the back of his mind he felt bad for how he treated Beth earlier but he knew that he couldn't talk to her secretly like he had been then be mad at Hanna for her involvement with Noel, nothing was going on with Beth but it was clear from their talk that she had hoped more would come from them, and he thought maybe he was leading her on by not making it clear where his head lay at. Throwing a wad of paper at his friend, Alton soon got his attention.

"Earth to Lucas" Alton called out to his friend "You've really got to zone in, we've only got a couple of weeks left of making this oh, so much money, but we've got to finish up the divided load" he told his friend

"I'm sorry. I was just thinking about some stuff" Lucas said shaking it out of his head

"Let me guess, Hanna, and the reason why you looked like dysfunction at its best" Alton said

"Yeah, something like that" Lucas laughed to himself at how Alton always saw all when it came to him "Lets just say your date brought out some issues" he said

"Beth. Dude, your two timing?" Alton asked suddenly intrigued

"No, or well, I think Hanna thought I was. Well when you look at the e-mails it seems" Lucas siad

"You've been e-mailing Beth?" Alton asked surprised "Was it like text sex?" he asked

"No, I was not having sex with her in any format digital or physical" Lucas replied

"Well whatever version you two were engaging in, just know that you have to get that resolved for the party tonight" Alton smiled

"Another party? Your really living it up this summer, aren't you?" Lucas asked his friend

"I'm taking full advantage of your relationship, unlike you. Hanna is the best thing that never happened to me, and the parties I have attended have surpassed the fingers on my hands, now I'm going for the toes" Alton said

"To each its own" Lucas laughed "I really don't think a party will do me any good tonight" he said

"See, that's your problem right there. Your like getting the Spencer stick up ass syndrome with a touch of Reese, kicking in, and you need to see a fun doctor for it" Alton said

"A fun doctor? Okay, you've lost your mind" Lucas concluded "I just really want to talk to Hanna and try to make things right with her. I want to tell her about my choice as well" he said

"What choice?" Alton asked

"I've decided that I'm not going to Winthrop, I want to stay here with her" Lucas told his friend "And I know what your going to say, but how many times do guys like us get the girl in the scenario?" he asked

"That's a good point, but it doesn't mean we just have to settle for anything as well" Alton said "I mean look what settling happened to Toby" he added

"Another fact we need to discuss. Jake? Really? Are we really going towards that?" Lucas asked his friend

"Shut up. I'm doing what I think is necessary, and Jake knows his crap" Alton said "I'm just not buying what was said anymore, I'm tired of it" he said

"And what inspired this fight against the system in you?" Lucas asked

"Everything. I'd be lying if I didn't say that I don't think about my part in killing Toby, but I just want to know how he got to that point" Alton said

"Al, you were trying to save me. It wasn't your fault" Lucas comforted his friend

"I know that but its getting hard for me to comprehend that at times, and those are the moments I need the answers to" Alton said "I just want to know why he was acting the way he was acting, and what he wanted to tell us" he said

"Yeah, that has puzzled me from time to time. Especially that bit about A, which is weird because the pictures I received was from an A" Lucas said

"A for what though? Alison" Alton said

"I don't know. Hanna seemed pretty freaked by it, and at the time I thought she knew who A was, but I was just pissed at the time where I could have just made what I wanted to see from that moment" Lucas said

"But we know for sure that Alison was probably linked to it somehow, and that's a hell of a lot to go off of" Alton said

"Be careful. A certain someone was best friends with Alison" Lucas warned Alton

"Who? Spencer. Its not like I'm going to run and tell her about me looking into Toby's life and to see if he really killed Alison" Alton said "I'm smarter than that" he said

"But you don't want to hurt her, especially since you care about her" Lucas said

"Again, Spencer?" Alton asked "I couldn't be with her, and she could never be with me" he said

"And why is that?" Lucas asked

"Because she's so uptight, cute, but uptight" Alton replied

"You argue with her but there is so much going on there, that your not telling me right now. I think the thing that your scared about is her not liking you in that way is the key thing here" Lucas laughed

"I'm glad that makes you laugh" Alton said

"It does, it really does. Spencer Hastings, that's who you fall for" Lucas laughed

"I haven't fallen for her" Alton declared "I think she's cute, nothing more" he said

"Your such a bad liar, its ridiculous how bad you are at lying" Lucas said

"Your right, maybe I have, can you ask Hanna…oh, wait. She's not talking to you right now" Alton joked about the current state of Lucas's relationship before he wadded up a paper to throw at his friend

"That was a good one, but a low blow" Lucas laughed

* * *

Staring down at her phone in disbelief, she tried to wrack her brain with every possibility on how to get out of this. Calling an emergency meeting, the girls all looked around searching for some glimmer of hope to answer to the latest request of A. Emily nervously paced the floor, running her fingers through her long black hair as she bit nervously on her fingertips. Spencer sat with her feet up in the chair, rocking back and forth trying to think of something, anything that would put them towards some progress on figuring out who A was or if the latest text would be a trap the girls were walking right into. Hanna sat on the bed, gripping on tight to the pillow as she just looked on at her friends, looking on how one single person had manage to take over their lives, ruin them and expose every secret at their disposal. A part of her would have felt at piece just to personify A as either male or female, like she would at least feel at piece if she knew her attacker in this sense instead of always wondering if the people she interacted with on a regular basis were the same people making her life a living hell. Finishing up her conversation on the phone, Aria joined the girls in the look of sorrow and helplessness knowing that something had to give.

"Were you able to get a hold of Bianca?" Spencer asked

"Yeah, she's moving her party to my mom's studio. Thankfully my mom is out of town, so it won't be too big of an issue" Aria said

"And the purpose of that again?" Hanna asked "I kind of blanked after the text" she said softly

"By moving the party to the studio, we'd be able to have camera access inside and outside of the studio" Aria said

"But what makes us so sure that A is just going to be that obvious? What makes us so sure that A will even be there tonight?" Emily asked

"We don't know, but we have to try something" Aria replied

"So we're just going to attempt to set up A by changing locations for camera access, in hopes of finding someone who looks so suspicious that they'd show up to a party" Hanna said "That would have to be the dumbest criminal or blackmailer known to man" she declared

"Do you have anything better? This is all we've got" Aria replied

"Yeah, its called let's call the police and tell them about this psycho all ready. We're stupid to think that we can deal with this so called A by ourselves" Hanna said

"A knows too much. We'd be risking a lot if we go to the police about this, I mean look what happened to Toby" Spencer said

"Well, I'm sorry but last I checked, I was on the chopping block, so don't I get a say in how we get blackmailed?" Hanna asked

"As am I. You act like you're the only one who has something to lose" Spencer replied

"Because I do! Spencer, you've got the Hastings name to hide behind. I'm all my mom has" Hanna said "I have to think twice about my actions because what I do just doesn't effect me, it effects my mom" she told them

"No one wants to be in this situation, but what other choice do we have" Emily said

"We have choices Em, we're just being stupid and not taking them" Hanna said

"Do you really want to risk it? I mean think about who we have to lose in all of this, we all have something to lose" Aria said "I'm sorry but we don't have any options" she replied softly

"So we just think we're more than qualified to take on whomever this person is, and what? We take them down with our cunning spirit and teenage attention span" Hanna said

"Oh, God. I hate this!" Emily said frustrated with the situation "I hate what this is doing to us. I hate lying all the time, and I hate the pain, I'm sick of it" she said angrily

"Then what? What options are you guys seeing because I don't see them" Spencer said

"Look, I know this has been thrown out there repeatedly in the span of five minutes, but let's think about this, how far are we going to let A take us until the only thing we begin to fear is something beyond our secrets" Emily said

"Em, its fine. I don't see anyone of us baring our secrets, which is fine because we all have them, and we do whatever it takes to keep them" Hanna told her after a moment of silence came "Its our only option" she said

* * *

Sitting at his desk, Lucas looked across the way over at Hanna's room hoping that she would have been in no mood to party, so she just had to come home early, and then he would have his grand chance to apologize and then they would make mad passionate love to each other, that all ran through his mind, but if only it would just happen. Unable to make it back over to Mr. Smith's place, largely in part of running into Beth again, that didn't stop his mentor from getting in touch with him. Mr. Smith was not thrilled with the answer that he wasn't going to go to Winthrop, but Lucas was glad that he was coming around to the idea more and more that he was going to start living his life on his own terms and that Hanna would be a part of it. Giving up hope that Hanna was going to return home, Lucas turned off his lamp light and began to prepare for bed, putting everything back in its place as he headed over towards his bed. Just as he pulled back the covers, his phone began to vibrate. Looking down at his phone, he quickly saw that he had received a text from Alton.

Alton: Wish u were here

"What do you have to lose Luke? I mean this is your gold opportunity to get your girl back and to have sex again" Lucas said before he took a quick moment to think about what he said "Sex, is not important. The girl is" he said before his cell phone began to ring "Hanna" he answered hopeful that it wasn't her

"Someone is desperate, and is having some girl problems" Mr. Smith said recognizing the desperation in Lucas's voice

"Hi, Mr. Smith, do I even call you that now, you know since your like a secret billionaire" Lucas asked

"Yes, you call me Mr. Smith still. So I'm extremely pissed that you rejected another shot, do I have to wonder why?" Mr. Smith asked

"No, you don't have to wonder, its pretty obvious. I appreciate everything you've done, but I need to be here" Lucas said

"You need to? What the hell, I'll give it my best shot" Mr. Smith sighed knowing that Lucas was probably going to tune him out regardless of how many good points he brought up as to why he should seize the opportunity "This is your future that is on the line, and this will be a second time that you have shot it down" he said

"I really love that you've invested at least once a week to verbally encourage me to embrace my future, and take the opportunities that come my way, but I have to do this my way, and my way wants to stay here for my senior year" Lucas said

"Okay, well I'm done trying. I know what your capable and I will continue to push you towards the best that I know you can be, even if I have to annoy you to death" Mr. Smith said

"And I'll thank you in millions one day, but right now I need to do the most teenage thing possible" Lucas said

"What?" Mr. Smith asked

"Party" Lucas replied as Mr. Smith couldn't help but laugh at how awkward it was to hear him talk about partying

"Okay, well if you rethink the opportunity, you know where to find me at in Winthrop" Mr. Smith said "Have fun partying" he said before he hung up the phone

Taking a moment to think about going to the party, Lucas sighed at the thought of being in the same room as Mona. The satisfaction she would get if she knew that Hanna and him were having problems just made him cringe. Before he could even really do his full thought process, he quickly grabbed his keys and was out the door.

* * *

Sipping on her beer, Hanna looked on at everyone laughing and enjoying their time, and in that moment she felt envious of her peers and how they were able to just go out and live their lives without as much as care in the world. She hadn't made it a habit to envy other since Alison passed away, but in this moment she did and if anyone were to look back at her stare, they'd know it to. A slight smile came to her face as she turned her attention towards Alton, remembering the boy who was once Lucas's sidekick, who had stepped out on his own and wasn't afraid to meet new people and challenge the social norm of what was the trend. The more and more Hanna saw him around Spencer, the more she saw that he challenged Spencer more than anyone ever could. They were all caught up in this mess, trying to find the silver lining but every time they did, they were once again brought back to reality. A knew all and saw all, that was something the girls had accepted and happiness wouldn't last long.

"You trying to get drunk?" Spencer asked as she took a seat next to Hanna

"It helps" Hanna replied instantly

"Don't make it a habit, its hard to break" Spencer told her

"Spencer, I want to drink, hopefully get a buzz, I don't want a lecture from you about it. So, either you will sit here and be quiet and just offer your company or you will just leave me to my Dixie cup filled with beer" Hanna said

"Fine, I'll just…I'll be company" Spencer said "Where is Lucas?" she asked

"He's not here" Hanna replied

"So are we just going to be cold, be like this….whatever this is, this coldness?" Spencer asked breaking the awkwardness between the two girls

"We're fine Spencer. It is what it is…and I've come to terms with it" Hanna replied "But just tell me one thing?" she asked

"What?" Spencer asked

"Just tell me one secret, tell me something that makes this all worth it?" Hanna asked her

"Then it wouldn't be a secret anymore, and that's why we're here in the first place. All on account to our secrets" Spencer said

"Why can't you just do it?" Hanna laughed to herself "I mean I'm the last person to judge on anything, so you really have nothing to lose" she said

"I just don't see what the purpose would be. What would knowing my secrets do for you?" Spencer asked

"I don't know, maybe tie us together in this screwed up version of hell we live in now called our lives" Hanna said

"No one else has had to step to the plate in revealing, why should I?" Spencer asked

"Fine, whatever. Forget I even asked you, its just going to lead to a debate I don't want to have. One of these days your going to realize that you can't always be a saint" Hanna said "Besides I have to get my head in the game" she said as she narrowed in on her target that was across the room "Looks like tonight we'll be sinners" she said before knocking back the rest of her beer before tossing her cup to the side

"So much for talking" Spencer said to herself as she watched Hanna make her way across the crowded dance floor just as Aria walked over towards Spencer

"How is she?" Aria asked

"Not good" Spencer replied "But can you blame her" she said before got up to head back over towards where Alton was

* * *

It was like a scripted movie scene, where the parents pulled up at the home front to find teens everywhere, either wasted or in compromising positions in public places. Lucas found it surprising that Aria's mother would even let her hold a party at her studio, seeing as it was her place of business, but then again his party at the photo gallery hadn't been so bad. All he could think at this moment was Alton was right, he was having a hint of Reese in him, so much so that he preferred to be at home working or watching old black and white movies. Entering the party, Lucas found it funny that the very girl that Alton had claimed to not like was the very girl who he was with. The banter hadn't fooled him, he knew that something was going on and they weren't fooling him for the slightest. Scanning the crowd he had hoped to spot Hanna, but there was no sign of her, and by the minute he had lost hope in the fact that she even wanted to be found by him. Heading upstairs, he had hoped that he would bump into her coming out of the restrooms or alone staring out at the stars like they once used to do whenever they missed each other. Not that many people were upstairs, which wasn't surprising to him because most of them were passed out drunk in the front or doing something indecent in another public place. Beginning to turn back, realizing not that many people were even up here, Lucas then heard rumblings come from within a room, where the door was slightly cracked. Slowly making his way over towards the door, he had no clue as to why he found the rumblings so suspicious to him before he slowly crept in to poke his head in to find himself in complete and utter disbelief by what he was seeing. Draped all over her, caught up in his embrace, just…just wrapped in each other in a bare embrace, Lucas saw the girl that he loved intimate with the very guy he had been suspicious of. Unable to even comprehend anger in the slightest, Lucas sadly just turned and walked away as if he had seen a ghost. Rushing downstairs in a desperate attempt to get out, Lucas bumped into Alton.

"Hey, you came" Alton praised his friends presence as Lucas just did his best to get around him "Are you okay?" he asked as Lucas stopped his fight to leave

"I've just…I've got to go" Lucas replied softly

"Are you sick or something?" Alton asked

"Yeah, something like that" Lucas replied before he made his way past the two of them, who looked on at him leave

* * *

As the party began to dwindle down, less and less people began to come in as more and more people began to leave once the food supply had gone down along with the beer. Sitting on the spare table looking on at the girls as they cleaned up, Hanna ran her fingers through her hair just trying to fix herself up because she knew if she had been in front of a mirror that she wouldn't have like what she had seen at all. Locking the doors after the last person had left them behind, Aria joined Hanna over at the able as the rest of the girls began joined her. Unable to even talk or discuss anything about tonight, Hanna got up from her seat, grabbing her stuff that was off in the corner before Emily quickly got up to stop her.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked before Hanna slowly looked up at her friend with tears in her eyes

"No, not really, but then again this was our only option, right?" Hanna said as she turned to look at her friends, letting them get the full effect of how she was doing

"I know you don't see it right now, but your protecting him. Lord knows what A would do to him" Spencer said

"Okay, Spencer, when your forced into having sex with someone just to protect the person you love, then we'll have the heart to heart about understanding the greater good of the group" Hanna yelled at her angrily

"I know that there is nothing that I can say that will take away the hurt your going through right now, but you've got to believe that you did right by him, to protect him from the hell Toby went through" Spencer replied

"Yeah, its still the same from you. Your just glad none of your secrets were exposed, that's all, well, sleep tight because they're all safe for another day" Hanna said

"Are you mad at us?" Aria asked

"No, I'm not mad. I'm just….A came after me, and I just did as told. I mean the text was pretty clear, if it were for either one of you then you'd be in my position. In order to be queen bee, you need a king, not a pauper. Seal the deal with Noel, and you'll have your king for sure. Remember, you have to step on a few people to get to the top" Hanna said in a mesmerized trance "It was pretty clear, right. It's what A wanted" she cried as Emily quickly pulled her into a hug "No, no. I can't do this. Not right now" she cried

"Right now, you probably feel alone in this, and you deserve to because you hurt someone you really cared about, but we love you and we're here for you, you have to know that, right?" Aria told her friend

"Its funny because for so long I envied Alison, and how people like me were in awe of her. Alison was Queen Bee, and she knew it. People loved her or at least pretended to, she was everything that none of us could ever be. Being recognized by Alison was just an honor, we were all honored to have been around her and we knew that. Then she looked at me, and groomed me to be the next Alison. Back then that in itself was what I wanted because lets face it, I was a loser" Hanna said as tears streamed down her face "But I don't want it anymore, I don't want this, and I'm scared because I feel like I've sold my soul to the devil and for what?" she said before she turned to leave, stopping dead in her tracks, she turned her head to the side so that they only saw half of her tear stained face "Lucas must never find out about this. This is a secret we share" she said before she made her way out of the studio

* * *

Last night had all been a blur to her, but the pain still remained the same to her as her heart felt like it was breaking with every moment she existed. Going through the motions of her routine when she would wake up, Hanna found herself looking over constantly at his bedroom window and over at his car so that she would keep track if he was there or not, and somewhat hoping that he hadn't figured out anything. In her mind she kept thinking of she would tell him that the guy he had told her to stay away from was the very guy that she had slept with the night before. Nothing about what she had to do seemed like it made sense, but she couldn't go on the rest of the summer pretending like everything was okay, she didn't want him to find out from anyone else, she owed him that much respect for everything he's done for her. If she was going to carry out A's orders of saving her status as Queen Bee, then she had to tell him, rip the band aid off as some would. Mentally she prepared herself of his wrath, expecting the best of his anger, but if anything she almost needed to hear it because in some sick way she would hear his heart speak to her in its own language that it once used to. Making her way over to his house, saying silent prayers with each step she took, Hanna contemplated climbing the grapevine but knew that privilege would soon be taken away after today. Knocking on the door, the wait hadn't been too long before Lucas's mother answered the door.

"Hey Hanna" Lucas's mother smiled happily at her

"Hi" Hanna hugged Lucas's mother "How are you doing?" she asked shyly trying to be polite

"I'm doing good, just trying to get over to the market early so I can take advantage of the sales today" Lucas's mother told her "You need something?" she asked

"I just wanted to talk to Luke real quick" Hanna said "Does he have company?" she asked

"I thought you two talked last night?" Lucas's mother asked

"No, I didn't see him last night" Hanna replied

"Oh, that's strange" Lucas's mother said "I thought you of all people, he would have talked to before he left" she said as Hanna quickly picked up on the last part

"Left? Lucas left?" Hanna asked alarmed with what she was hearing

"Yes, he accepted the spot at Winthrop. I thought you knew?" Lucas's mother asked

"Oh, yeah. I just forgot because we've both been real busy, I'm sure he'll call later tonight. I'm just not used to him being gone" Hanna said trying to stop the tears that were welling up in her eyes as Lucas's mother turned her attention over to the moving truck that pulled into the vacated house that had been up for sale for the longest on the other side of the street

"Well, I'll be damned, they finally sold that house" Lucas's mother noticed

"Yeah, they took down the sign" Hanna shrugged off before she slowly turned to leave as a car pulled up in front of the house causing her to look on strangely

"I wonder who it is?" Lucas mother asked just as a man stepped out of the car along with what appeared to a brunette and a teenage girl from what it looked like from behind, causing Hanna to stop dead in her tracks "Do you know?" she asked

Hanna said shook her head in disbelief "My father" she simply said as the man that she had always felt abandoned her turned to see his daughter's stare as the two just stood motionless in their stance.

-The End-

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the last chapter for The Beauty & The Geek, I know I promised 25 chapters and you will get the 25th chapter. The last chapter will be more of an epilogue or as I like to think, a set up into the second story, it will be a character diary entry of their final days of summer before heading into Senior Year for some...The new story will be posted by this weekend, so look for OF BEAUTIES & GEEKS, hope you enjoyed the story and this chapter. :)**


	26. August Diaries

**Chapter Twenty Five- August Diaries**

You ever have that moment of when you belong, that moment where its finally clear to you that your worth something in this world, well, I had that moment as soon as I came back to Winthrop. Its been four weeks since I've left, and I don't think I've ever had a moment to look back on what life used to be. There was no time to think, I hopped on the first available train out late that evening and just kept going. When I arrived in Wintrhop, the gates looked like heaven doors opening up towards me, and I so graciously entered into the welcome arms of Mr. Smith, who was more than thrilled to have me. I bet it was more like Christmas Day for him, to finally win the debate over my future, I wasn't ready to pledge my whole existence towards becoming a millionaire or just honing in on my talents, but it was nice to be somewhere that felt like I belonged, and that I wasn't different amongst the sea of people that who were beyond smart.

The first week, it was a little bit of a culture shock but I'm glad to say that I adjusted by weeks end. I attended workshops and listened in on lectures of some of the finest professors in the United States about theories that were sure to be innovative for the next generation, I have to admit it, I left inspired. That night I went back to my room, and finished whatever was necessary for my software, its funny because I even named it. It was like it was a child being born and when I held in my hands I looked on with such pride that a piece me existed in this tiny thing, and then I named it. When I created this software, I only had one thing in mind, I think it was the reason why Mr. Smith pushed so hard was because he knew what that one thing was, he preached about it until I finally gave in. So in that moment I held the final copy or should I say the final disc, there was only one name that came to mind, one name that it'll ever be. Il Futuro, he sounded devine, it had my mark, it was my proof of existence in this world, and now I was ready to further my knowledge of making sure Il Futuro went and was guided by the right people, but moreso; I was ready to unveal.

The following weeks were parties after parties, and I have to admit I took part in a few, but it was only to get out of my own skin for a bit. Being associated with the Smith's it gave me access, it gave me more fame on the campus as I like to see it. Here, I was getting attention from every girl possible, and they weren't necessarily the typical nerd girl stereotype, they were gorgeous, they were intelligent. Days on in, I would get offers of accompanying these beautiful creatures back to their room for some personal pleasures, but as much as I liked the attention, that wasn't what I was in to. Sex was something I cherished in my youth, but it was all consuming, I didn't want to treat it like it was something taken lightly, I still wanted the respect and intimacy it gave two people, I wanted that and I wasn't about to lose that aspect of it. Around campus, I would occasionally bump into Beth and after our last conversation, it was no surprise that we weren't the best of friends, but the more we saw each other at the benefit parties, the less upset she became with me.

Not everything was all work and parties, I had taken up sailing while I was out here. I don't have the upper body of Screech as much anymore, now that I'm manning the seven seas, but I still have a bit to work on. I hope to one day own my own sailboat but for now the one I borrow will be good. Sometimes while I'm out on the ocean, I can feel Toby's presence as if he were with me, guiding me through the open seas. Thinking more about what happened that day on the boat, I couldn't shake the thought of what drove Toby towards his demise and how I wish that he would have come to me instead. Alton and Jake were beginning their work back home on trying to uncover all records in regards to the three years after that summer, and I wondered were they on to something myself.

Alton had found it surprising that I had upped and left Rosewood, but he knew that I had my reasons and that a piece of me had always stayed behind anyways. I hadn't clued him on the whole Hanna situation, partly because I knew they were friends and if he knew, then his loyalty would lay with me, but since I had no clue if I was coming back, I didn't want him to spoil his newfound popularity, so I had to suffer through the updates of how Hanna was doing, and how I should try talking to her because Noel was sniffing around. It made my blood boil to hear that but I had to play cool because he couldn't know. The image of Noel and Hanna still remained in my head, and I couldn't shake it. I wondered what drove her into his arms? I wondered how she could be so reckless with our relationship? I wondered did I even cross her mind while she was bare in his arms? I wondered was he everything that she thought he was because there was no way in hell I would take her back after the pain she caused me, all I could do was wonder at the end of the day. Had I changed? I'm not sure, I mean I feel different, I feel heartbroken if that's something to call a change, but nothing significant. I guess the biggest question is, where will home be come September?

-Lucas

* * *

Family bliss, wish I knew what that was because at this moment life is starting to feel like family hell. Dear old dad has made his way back to Rosewood, which is weird because he was so eager to leave away, its been 4 weeks and I hate it. Mom was surprised but not too surprised, which has me a little confused as to where her loyalties lie, don't get me wrong, I know my mom can't stand my dad but I can't help but think she thinks is a good thing. The first week we would bash my father over dinner, but lately she hasn't joined in on the fun, its like she's accepted my father's return and hopes that things will get better. I don't want things to get better with him, things should have been better when we almost lost our house and my dads great idea was to have us move out and live elsewhere while he gallivants with his new family, I wanted things to be better then not now, not after I've sworn to hate him. He's made a habit to come around in the afternoons for about three hours, I mean he'll come over and ask me a few questions as if he were trying to soften me up, but I think he's gotten the fact that I'm still angry with him, so his questions have been limited each day that he's come over, after realizing that nothing much needs to be said between us, he watches television and that's it. I guess the thing I should be thankful for is that he hasn't forced Kate and to have sisterly interaction because that's not happening by a long shot. For the most part, Kate has remained on her side and the same goes for me as well.

Mona has let it be known that she's running a full fledged campaign against me for Queen Bee, I'd think nothing of it but if I want A off my back for good, then I have to treat her like a threat. Popularity doesn't buy much but people talking about you constantly and most of the time they're saying something negative about you that is far from the truth. People have begun to link Noel and I together but only a few know the truh behind our encounter, and they've been sworn to secrecy. Having Alton around is always fun in a weird way because he can see truth like none other, when it comes to people. If I must make my way back to the thrown, I want to do it on my own terms. Emily, Spencer, and Aria have become so grateful towards me that I'm starting to think of them as my personal slaves but if anything they're keeping me sane because having my dad back with his new family and then Lucas up and leaving, thats enough to drive a girl insane. Since they are in debted to me though, I do plan to have as many slumber parties as possible because I do kind of like having the girls back again even if the circumstances suck like they do now.

Looking across the street has become so depressing because every time I look over there I expect to see him but there's no him. I miss him so much that I feel like my heart is going to beat out of my chest. Back and forth in my head, I wonder if he's found out about what happened between Noel and I, but for him to up and leave like that…I don't know what to think but I can't just assume he does know. Maybe he thinks I was so upset with him that the best thing for us was to have time apart, whatever is going on…I just need him. My mind has gone all over the place, I'm unsure if I should call him, text him, any form of communication has me second guessing myself. Sometimes when I look out at the stars, I imagine his face and how it felt to be in his arms, I imagined us in only the sweetest of memories. I wish it were more than that, I wish they were more than memories between us right now. Since Bianca's party, I have made as little as to no contact with Noel, I didn't want him to think that what transpired between us was anything more than me obliging A's demands. A part of me wishes that I would have went against the grain and see just what exactly A would have done, but I couldn't risk him, I couldn't risk losing Lucas or my mom or anyone for that matter, but I couldn't risk Lucas. I love him more than life it feels at times, so to have something happen to him because of a mistake I made four years ago, it wasn't even a consideration to me to put Lucas up for grabs. When Toby had Lucas and Alton stranded out in the open sea, it took every ounce of me to hold myself together but inside I just kept wondering if the last kiss he gave was truly the last kiss or the last time I smelled his intoxicating sense I couldn't help but wonder was that the last time, every little thing I loved about him and still love about him, it scared me to death to know that it could have all ended in the blink of an eye. I was mad at him that day for him reaching out to Mr. Smith on my behalf, and looking back on all our disagreements and the times we spend being upset with each other, I realized that it was all stupid, it wasn't worth it to be mad at someone that I cared so deeply for.

At the end of the day, I have to live with my decision and realize that I did it for him. It gave me no pleasure or satisfaction to be with Noel because having sex is not what I want with someone, Lucas helped me realize that being intimate with someone is about sharing your heart and soul, giving them a piece of you that no one else is privy to. Noel will never have that piece of me because it was never there to give to him because Lucas held it and at this point, he still holds the key to my heart until he wishes to give it back.

-Hanna

* * *

The end of summer sucks. TV is dumb, and so cliché. I half expect my porn collection to have better acting than it does. Lucas up and left so he's officially on my dumb list, but that's okay, I will find a way to make the rest of this summer memorable. I've been annoying Spencer a lot lately, maybe that's because I miss hanging out with Lucas, but passing the time with her isn't so bad…we bicker a lot but I think that's just how we are for some reason. I think she wants me, which is understandable because no lady can resist all of this loving.

My senior year is going to be epic, I'm sure of it. I know I should start worrying about going off to actually partake in college activities but I want to worry about that stuff later, not right now. So we'll see….

-Alton


End file.
